April 7, 2022
Engineer Vic Van Allen (Ben Affleck) was only middle-aged but he can already afford to retire because of the money he earned developing a microchip that had been used for combat drones. However, his marriage with his much-younger wife Melinda (Ana de Armas) was not smooth-sailing. To save the marriage, he allowed her to engage other men for sex in an open arrangement. However, before long, Vic began to feel jealous and insecure.
When Melinda engaged in an affair with a much younger guy Joel Dash (Brendan C. Miller), Vic just happened to mention that he had been responsible for the death of a previous boyfriend of Melinda's who had gone missing a week ago. When Joel took the hint and left town, Melinda turned her attention to pianist Charlie De Lisle (Jacob Elordi). One night, Melinda, Vic and Charlie were all together at one pool party, and tragedy was afoot.
This story was adapted from a 1957 novel by Patricia Highsmith, who was also responsible for other best-selling books which had also adapted into popular films, like "Strangers on a Train" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." "Deep Water" had already been adapted into the French film "Eaux profondes" (2002) by director Michel Deville, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert. There had also been a 2-episode German TV movie about it in 1983.
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas play the Van Allen couple, always at odds with each other, pushing each other's buttons and limits. Both are not particularly likable, so there is no one you would root for to prevail. Affleck was a weird wooden sort, raising snails and threatening men for a hobby. De Armas was no doubt sexy, but her Melinda was stuck in a monotonous seduction mode. Terry Letts was annoying and predictable the nosy friend Don Wilson.
The director is Adrian Lyne, a veteran director coming back from a 20-year hiatus. During his heyday, he came out with famous films like "9-1/2 Weeks" (1986), "Indecent Proposal" (1992), "Unfaithful" (2002) and "Fatal Attraction" (1987) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Directing. He is back in his erotic psychological thriller drama element here in "Deep Water," but this new one was heavy-handed and had no subtlety. 5/10.
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