The Deep End (2001)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Scott McGehee
David Siegel

Writers:

Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (novel)
Scott McGehee (written by) ...

Release Date:

17 October 2001 (Belgium)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.

Plot Keywords:

Dead Body | Murder | Water | Investigation | Murder Investigation

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Tilda Swinton	...	Margaret Hall
Goran Visnjic	...	Alek 'Al' Spera
Jonathan Tucker	...	Beau Hall
Peter Donat	...	Jack Hall
Josh Lucas	...	Darby Reese
Raymond J. Barry	...	Carlie Nagel (as Raymond Barry)
Tamara Hope	...	Paige Hall
Jordon Dorrance	...	Dylan Hall
Heather Mathieson	...	Sue Lloyd
Holmes Osborne	...	Loan Officer
Richard Gross	...	Deputy Sheriff
Kip Martin	...	BYD
Franco Delgado	...	Barrish Brother
Kip Ellwood	...	Male Nurse
Margot Krindel	...	Amber Lloyd

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language, and for a strong sex scene.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R (original rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:M (TV rating) | New Zealand:R13 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38386) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Lake Tahoe, California, USA

Company:

i5 Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Scott McGehee and David Siegel] [as the EMTs from the ambulance that arrive to pick up Jack.]

Goofs:

Continuity: Alek is suspended upside down after the car crash, but the blood is shown to have run up his face, from forehead to chin.

Quotes:

[forcing Margaret to watch a video of Beau and Darby having sex]
Alek 'Al' Spera: Like movies?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Anatomy of a Scene: The Deep End" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Swan Lake, Op. 20, Finale

A melodrama that worked for me

It appears that either this movie works for you or doesn't. It worked for me for several reasons, not the least being the great performance by Tilda Swinton as Margaret, an upper-middle-class mother with an obsessive desire to protect her son. Swinton projects the image of a woman who can handle any situation; blackmail, the revelation of her son's sexual orientation, the notion that her son may be a murderer, taking care of her aging father-in-law, and running the family are all in a day's work. I was drawn into the story by the beautiful photography, the captivating music, and the plot twists. For whatever reason I did not dwell on plot holes but simply allowed myself to be absorbed. And, if you accept Margaret's almost pathologically obsessive devotion to her family, then most of what happens hangs together.

I found the unexpected relationship that develops between Margaret and the blackmailer to be interesting. The experience is more transformative for him than for her. I also like the way the tables were turned on the relationship between Margaret and her spoiled son. In the beginning his behavior was confusing to Margaret and he was not willing to talk about it and in the end Margaret's behavior was mysterious to her son and she was not willing to talk about it.

It was only the contrived ending that bothered me.