Deep Water marks the return of Adrian Lyne to the filmmaking fold, last seen making a splash with 2002’s Unfaithful. The English filmmaker behind such films as Fatal Attraction, 9 ½ Weeks, and Indecent Proposal, Lyne emerges from a dormant directing career with the self-imposed task of resurrecting a seemingly dormant subgenre: the erotic thriller. While big in the heyday of the 80s and 90s, the trend of sexually-charged features largely fell out of vogue after the turn of the century, begging the inevitable question: can movies even dare to be horny anymore?
As the landscape of American cinema has chastened over time, Lyne clearly aims to shake things up with Deep Water, which scores points for being a noble effort, if not always a successful one. Working from a screenplay penned by Zach Penn (Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium) and Sam Levinson (HBO’s Euphoria), and adapted from the 1957 Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name, Lyne is striving to capture that long-lost spark that made his prior films massive hits but ultimately lacks the conviction to follow through.
What Deep Water does possess is bona fide star power in Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, two of our hottest working actors whose publicized offscreen relationship adds an air of extratextual intrigue to the filmic proceedings. While Lyne occasionally flounders, Affleck and de Armas successfully keep their heads above water, generating palpable chemistry and bringing the requisite heat when their director is unable to do so. The strengths of Deep Water rest on their shoulders, and the film is all the better for it.
Take My Wife
Affleck and de Armas are Vic and Melinda Van Allen, a married couple living a life of luxury in Louisiana, their wealth buoyed by Vic’s previous career as a tech mogul (now retired, he was responsible for being at the forefront of the microchip technology largely used in drone warfare). While both maintain an illusion of domesticity for the sake of their young daughter, Trixie (Grace Jenkins), the reality is much more fractured. The pair reside in separate bedrooms, and Melinda has free rein to sleep with whomever she desires, a tacit arrangement that Vic agrees to with weary resignation. While Melinda enjoys her fair share of attractive young men, Vic retreats to the solitude of riding his mountain bike or tending to the terrarium that houses his elaborate snail farm.
One evening, the two attend an engagement at a friend’s mansion, where Melinda openly flirts and dances with a good-looking guy named Joel (Brendan Miller). This raises concerns from buddies Grant (Lil Rey Howery) and Jonas (Dash Mihok), but Vic casually plays Melinda’s behavior off as nothing to be concerned about. However, when Vic has his own private encounter with Joel, he coolly admits to having murdered Melinda’s previous lover, hinting that Joel’s life might be on the line should he pursue her further.
Though initially passed off as a joke, Vic’s thinly veiled threats are not taken lightly, as rumors quickly spread across town that he may be a man with something to hide, not to mention that Melinda’s previous beau has, in fact, disappeared, a development that does not sit well with their core group of friends, least of all close pal Don Wilson (Tracy Letts). As Melinda continues to pursue other attractive twenty and thirty-somethings, Vic begins to take actions with deadly consequences.
Death Won’t Tear Us Apart
The ruinous state of the Van Allen’s marriage presents the film with both a narrative and emotional throughline, though there is not a complete lack of hope for either of them. In the opening moments of the film, Melinda is caught admiring Vic as he begins to strip down following a bike ride, hinting at a secret yearning that occasionally pokes through the iciness. The duo also occasionally engages in heated lovemaking sessions, but even with Lyne at the helm, these sequences never quite achieve the sustained feelings of passion that the genre is known for.
The film comes alive when it’s investigating the “is Vic a serial killer?” plotline, and Affleck is more than suitably cast in the role. The character is basically an alt-universe Nick Dunne, one who easily murdered Amy and got away with it because everyone thinks he’s a fundamentally decent guy. Affleck utilizes his nice guy exterior to great effect, exuding an amiable presence but harboring something dangerous within.
Also fantastic is de Armas, who is never anything less than a shining star, continuing her upwards trajectory into the stratosphere. Whether it’s quietly observing her husband or entertaining a roomful of guests to her own rendition of Paolo Canto’s “Via Con Me” on the piano, she remains a radiant screen presence and one who is more than capable of holding her own against Affleck. It’s no surprise they carried on with a real-life affair after this film.
Secrets are revealed, trusts are broken, and the body count piles up, as Deep Water slowly but surely heads to a grand finale, wherein things go completely off the rails with an out-of-nowhere car chase that betrays the rather stilted picture that came before it. It’s a moment of welcome lunacy, and the film even concludes with a “love conquers all” message, suggesting that marriage is the most powerful force at work.
Conclusion: Deep Water
After a twenty-year absence, Deep Water is not quite the film to reclaim Lyne’s mojo. Sparks occasionally fly, but the film is oddly listless when it comes time to deliver the goods. There is simply no passion found in the production. Fortunately, Lyne does have Affleck and de Armas, and they certainly don’t account for nothing, lifting the material far higher than their director ever could.
What do you think? Do Deep Water’s leads carry it across the finish line?
Deep Water is now streaming on Hulu.
Watch Deep Water
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