Review Wanted-The Deep End
#3
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I just saw this last night and I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed. I'd been hearing great things about this when it came out, but to me it just never quite took off -- kind of felt like a Lifetime movie with delusions of grandeur. Good solid acting, beautiful cinematography and so forth, but in the end it just was yet another movie with people making terrible decisions and having to deal with the consequences - which, when you think about it, is like half the movies ever made, of course. I just don't know why some critics call this a "perfect noir" and so forth when to me something like "The Man Who Wasn't There" was much more moody and evocative. I wouldn't say "The Deep End" is a bad movie, it's just an exceedingly ordinary one despite the trappings. If the scenario took place in Brooklyn instead of the mountains of Lake Tahoe nobody would have given this one a second look I think... I give it a "C+"
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NJ, USA
Posts: 614
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
cautiously positive review
I was impressed with The Deep End. The pacing is fairly slow, but it is sure .. there is a definite momentum. I never felt bored. The tension is real - the narrative plays out as 'real'.
What made this movie for me, were the emotional undercurrents and fractures between the various people and in the family. Tilda Swinton's acting is spot on - she is strong as the mother trying to hold everything together around her - but also very vulnerable and overwhelmed by circumstances over which she has no control.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, but I am not sure there is enough there for repeated viewings .. so maybe rent it first. Also, if you're expecting an action thriller, or even a horror flick, you will be sorely disappointed.
What made this movie for me, were the emotional undercurrents and fractures between the various people and in the family. Tilda Swinton's acting is spot on - she is strong as the mother trying to hold everything together around her - but also very vulnerable and overwhelmed by circumstances over which she has no control.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, but I am not sure there is enough there for repeated viewings .. so maybe rent it first. Also, if you're expecting an action thriller, or even a horror flick, you will be sorely disappointed.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada
Posts: 643
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by Sierra Disc
I just saw this last night and I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed. I'd been hearing great things about this when it came out, but to me it just never quite took off -- kind of felt like a Lifetime movie with delusions of grandeur. Good solid acting, beautiful cinematography and so forth, but in the end it just was yet another movie with people making terrible decisions and having to deal with the consequences - which, when you think about it, is like half the movies ever made, of course. I just don't know why some critics call this a "perfect noir" and so forth when to me something like "The Man Who Wasn't There" was much more moody and evocative. I wouldn't say "The Deep End" is a bad movie, it's just an exceedingly ordinary one despite the trappings. If the scenario took place in Brooklyn instead of the mountains of Lake Tahoe nobody would have given this one a second look I think... I give it a "C+"
I just saw this last night and I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed. I'd been hearing great things about this when it came out, but to me it just never quite took off -- kind of felt like a Lifetime movie with delusions of grandeur. Good solid acting, beautiful cinematography and so forth, but in the end it just was yet another movie with people making terrible decisions and having to deal with the consequences - which, when you think about it, is like half the movies ever made, of course. I just don't know why some critics call this a "perfect noir" and so forth when to me something like "The Man Who Wasn't There" was much more moody and evocative. I wouldn't say "The Deep End" is a bad movie, it's just an exceedingly ordinary one despite the trappings. If the scenario took place in Brooklyn instead of the mountains of Lake Tahoe nobody would have given this one a second look I think... I give it a "C+"
That's not to say it's a bad movie. It really was pretty decent, but still, not nearly as good as I was expecting it to be.
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, I bought this sight unseen before reading "everyday" viewers thoughts as opposed to critics. What a disappointment! This in no way constitutes a thriller that's for sure! I understand what was behind the film but this was slow paced and no real thrills abound! It reminded me of "In the Bedroom" which I also thought got way more hype than it deserved. Another movie that moved at a snails pace with no hard hitting drama or suspense.
Definitely rent before you buy!!! I am from now on!
Definitely rent before you buy!!! I am from now on!
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Max
This in no way constitutes a thriller that's for sure! I understand what was behind the film but this was slow paced and no real thrills abound! It reminded me of "In the Bedroom" which I also thought got way more hype than it deserved.
This in no way constitutes a thriller that's for sure! I understand what was behind the film but this was slow paced and no real thrills abound! It reminded me of "In the Bedroom" which I also thought got way more hype than it deserved.