Synopsis
Adrian Lyne is back to directing with Deep Water after a 20-year break. He translates to the screen, psychologically, what a sublime mixture of eroticism and thrill is. Deep Water is a direct adaptation from Patricia Highsmith’s 1957 novel. Lyne narrates the story of a wealthy couple with an open marriage, dancing on the edge of violence, manipulation and mental warfare.
This story is about Vic Van Allen, a wealthy retired tech entrepreneur. He is living in a seemingly peaceful little town called Little Wesley in Louisiana. He is a quiet and intelligent man who has hobbies of reading and studying snails. His wife, on the other hand, is different. Melinda is a flirtatious and beautiful woman who is emotionally very capricious. They have an arrangement in the marriage, where Melinda has free reign to have multiple lovers. For the sake of the family, especially their young daughter Trixie, Vic ‘accepts’ the open marriage.
As is the case with a toxic arrangement, things start to crumble. Melinda’s affairs become bolder, with her lovers becoming more public, shaking Vic’s composure. Things begin to spiral when one of Melinda’s ex-lover goes missing. Vic, in a rather dark humor, tells a friend that he is the one who murdered the guy. His comment, albeit made in jest, raises suspicion in the open social circle they share.
Melinda’s lovers start disappearing one by one, and with each disappearance, the mystery deepens. As the police start looking into it, Melinda gets more and more vexatious and vexes Vic by pointing out his odd habits. Vic, on the other hand, is becoming more and more of a tyrant. His behavior toward Melinda’s admirers becomes violent to the point that he starts stalking, threatening, and even fighting them.
The plot thickens as a friend of the couple, Don Wilson, starts to believe that Vic is up to actual homicide. While Vic is trying to keep his side of the story clean, a series of real and unreal events unfold in a blend of sanity and insanity.
The last part of the movie starts as a a cat and mouse chase filled with psychological elements. While Melinda takes on the part of a worried spouse, she drives Vic further to the brink of insanity. One of her lovers is found dead. As the main suspect, Vic is accused, but the couple mislead, manipulate, gaslight, and twist their way into a warped routine of the toxicity of normal life filled with obsession and murky love.
Cast and Characters
Vic Van Allen, portrayed by Ben Affleck, is a gradually dangerous and emotionally gloomy figure. Affleck’s performing captures a charming but sinister reign of a man emotionally shattered and on the edge of a breakdown.
Ana de Armas as Melinda Van Allen
De Armas gave one of the most seductive yet erratic and complex performances of the year. She portrays Melinda as more than just a cheating wife. She captures every part of a character that is complex and multifaceted—a mix of an enigmatic injury and a rebellious spirit who is unshackled in the chase of personal freedom.
Grace Jenkins as Trixie Van Allen
The couple’s daughter who is subservient to a world of shattered dreams and concealed madness. She is the stark contrast to the unrestrained violence and chaos that surrounds her.
Tracy Letts as Don Wilson
The Van Allens’ friend who becomes suspicious and suspicious of Vic and acts as the moral center of the work. Unfortunately, he becomes a victim of the couple’s overwhelming deceit.
The secondary characters include the members of the Van Allens’ social circle and Melinda’s numerous lovers, played by Dash Mihok, Jacob Elordi, Kristen Connolly, and Lil Rel Howery.
Production background
Deep Water is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, who is known for writing morally ambiguous and highly charged characters, as in her Ripley series. The screenplay was modified by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson.
High-end, erotic suspense, and couple trouble defined the works of Adrian Lyne, the filmmaker who focused on Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful, and Indecent Proposal. His return to themes of erotic tension and marital collapse and psychological suspense is marked by Deep Water.
The film’s release was initially set for theaters, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused multiple delays. At the end of the day, the film was released digitally, which reduced its visibility from an erotic thriller to niche streaming content.
The casting of Ben Affleck alongside Ana de Armas was striking, especially because the two were dating during the filming. This relationship certainly did not help quell the rumors.
Themes and Analysis
Sexual Power Dynamics
Deep Water’s key message involves the sexual control and manipulation. Melinda provokes Vic with her sexuality, and Vic in turn controls Melinda with an attitude of passivity and implied violence. Their marriage transforms into a complex game of seduction, humiliation, and power.
Facade and Reality:
The film highlights the concept of “everything can be deceiving”. The Van Allens portray themselves as wealthy and well-cultured, but, in reality, the couple, alongside their children, was filled with contempt, deceit, and dysfunction.
Jealousy and Obsession
As the story unfolds, jealousy takes center stage, particularly Vic’s jealousy. Where Melinda is interested, Vic focuses on the people she is dating and meltdowns follow. He becomes violent towards her lovers, often resulting in fatal outcomes. He is obsessed with control and this devotion is not limited to her body, but her very being.
Moral Ambiguity
The audience is left to ponder the story in its entirety, grappling with the multiple perspectives without a clear hero. What is evident is that both Vic and Melinda possess morally ambiguous natures, for she is equally toxic and manipulative in her own right.
Reception
The movie provoked heated discussions and arguments due to its casting and premise. There were more negative reviews than positives, as the pacing and transitions were erratic. There were attempts to work with the emerging tensions, but they remained untamed and didn’t fully realize or embrace the psychological elements of the story.
The previous arguments were paired with other reasoning due to mistreatment of minor focus. Character arcs and growth were heavily criticized, due to their lack of limitations.
The mixed reviews and harsh pull towards the fault actually became aids to the identified performers. De Armas fully embraced Melinda bringing to life the untamed side bringing life into the lifeless. Affleck received some negative towards the positive side as well for not moving and edging towards a more entertaining side while bringing down the volume.
While some viewers enjoyed the film’s noir elements and unconventional storytelling, others found it disappointing and craved a more powerful emotional resolution or a gripping thriller.
Conclusion
Deep Water stands as a contemporary addition to the erotic thriller genre, although it seems more like a psychological drama that unfolds at a sluggish pace. It embodies the exploration of marriage’s darker elements through the lens of profoundly flawed characters, a hallmark of a director celebrated for his tales of love, lust, and betrayal.
Critically, this film might not be a standout, but it certainly captures the attention of viewers intrigued by morally ambiguous characters and the tension of sex, as well as slow psychological decay. This film elegantly straddles the line between devotion and control, love and ruin. It captures, in a moody, stylized fashion, the destructive dance of passion and possessiveness.
In a lot of ways, Deep Water revolves less around crime and more around the intangible limits within relationships. This examines the point where the desire to control and possess someone blurs with the desire to annihilate them. This gives the notion of a love story, but stripped of trust, honesty, or safety— a portrait of people entangled in the paradox of needing to coexist, or, like a vicious cycle, wanting to solitary.
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