Film Review: Deep Water (2022)

Deep Water

20th Century Studios/Regency Enterprises/New Regency/Entertainment 360/Film Rites/Entertainment One

Hulu (United States)/Amazon Prime Video (International)

#whatonwhatsgood Express Review (by: Jovin Tardif)

"Director Adrian Lyne hasn’t done a film in twenty years.  Some of my favourites include Fatal Attraction (1987) and Indecent Proposal (1993).  Deep Water is an erotic thriller that follows Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda Van Allen (Ana de Armas).  They live in a beautiful home in New Orleans with their young daughter Trixie (Grace Jenkins).  Vic is retired after he invented a computer chip that is used for drone warfare.  Melinda seems bored and loves to openly flaunt her affairs at parties.  The weird part is that Vic seems to be okay with Melinda going out with other men.

This is definitely not a healthy relationship. 

Over time, one of Melinda's past lovers turns up dead...but who did it?  Was it Vic, their neighbor Don or perhaps Melinda's latest boy toy (Brendan Miller)?  What is going on in Vic and Melinda's marriage?  Can Vic keep Trixie away from all the craziness?

Overall, I thought Affleck and Armas did a pretty decent job of showing the tension between them."

Deep Water

Release Date

March 18, 2022

Directed by

Adrian Lyne

Screenplay by

Zach Helm and Sam Levinson

Based on

Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith

Produced by

Arnon Milchan, Steven Zaillian, Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Anthony Katagas and Philipp Keel

Starring

Ben Affleck as Vic Van Allen

Ana de Armas as Melinda Van Allen

Tracy Letts as Lionel Washington

Lil Rel Howery as Nash Hall

Dash Mihok as Arthur Goggins

Finn Wittrock as Damon "Dom" Hart

Kristen Connolly as Jackie Connelly

Jacob Elordi as Richard Chase

Rachel Blanchard as Maggie Connelly

Jade Fernandez as Evelyn Hall

Michael Braun as Jeff Peterson

Grace Jenkins as Trixie Van Allen

Brendan C. Miller as Joel Nash

Devyn Tyler as Mary Washington

Jeff Pope as Chief Nichols

Michael Scialabba as Kevin Washington

Cinematography

Eigil Bryld

Edited by

Andrew Mondshein and Tim Squyres

Music by

Marco Beltrami 

Interviews 3/14/2022

Adrian Lyne - Director

"I thought the idea that there'll be complicity between these people kind of a sexual complicity, where, for example, at the beginning of the movie, he's wandering around looking for her and her boyfriend Joel and he's looking at the party. and she's disappeared outside, and he goes to a window, and he sees her and the boyfriend making out, and there's a moment when she looks up to the window, and she sort of knows that he's going to be watching it's a very bizarre and interesting moment. I think what's interesting on top of that is that rather than looking away and being embarrassed that she'd been caught by her husband, she turns back to the boy as if nothing has happened.

Right off the bat, you get a sense that she's almost doing it for his benefit as well, which is sort of unusual.

Ben's a terrific actor.  What I liked was his willingness to play somebody who was unlike himself.  This guy is sort of an introvert guy who's vulnerable. It's different from a lot of the parts that he had played previously.  I thought it was very brave of him.  At times, he said to me 'it's not in my DNA to do this', but it was. I'm really proud of him. 

I really like when a film is discussed after it is made.  They won't necessarily agree, but I love the fact that they won't forget it by the next day.  I've been lucky because I made a few movies where that's happened.  They're still talking about Fatal Attraction.  I've been lucky. I hope that'll be the case with this because I think it's very eccentric and I feel lucky to have made it." 

Ana De Armas - "Melinda Van Allen"

"Melinda...it's a little hard to describe. She's full of contrast. On one side you have this woman who's a good mom who's full of energy with so much love to give. Melinda is excited about living life to the fullest. On the other hand, you have someone who's deeply unhappy in her marriage. She's frustrated, angry, and doesn't have the life she expected.  She wants more. 

This character gave me the chance to work with lots of colors...be open with my performance because she goes from being really strong and in control to very vulnerable and reckless.

The character is completely different from who I am as an actor.

My favorite films of all time are thrillers.

I did not know how to play the piano. It was a challenge for me to learn how to play and sing that song,  but I had a lot of fun.

Melinda is trying to get her husband's attention...trying to maybe spark that intimacy again."  

Ben Affleck - "Vic Van Allen"

"The best bet on a movie is working with a good director.  Adrian Lyne's movies like Fatal Attraction or Indecent proposal...you got tension....sleep with my wife for $1,000,000. 

Vic is a guy who is a got the mind of an engineer.  People like that tend to be so black and white and technically focused, a little bit more separated, emotionally, more cerebral, and a little more distance from their emotions.  I sort of thought of him as like really rooted in the front brain. Not at all in touch with like how he felt at all.  So sometimes his actions would be it's born to him and surprise his reaction, surprising to him, and not what he expected or wanted, or even surprised to feel anything at all.

Finn Wittrock - "Tony Cameron"

"It's like who is the person with who you are spending every waking moment? How do you really know what's underneath...what's underneath their skin. 

Tony and Melinda...well, I think that they were a fling in college.  Tony fell in love with traveling and the environment, and like outreach, and so I think he just sort of moved on.

I think it was amicable.  I think that he did break up with her."  

Jacob Elordi - "Charlie De Lisle"

"Charlie is a young pianist and he's her piano instructor.

I was at home, and I had a little bit of time, so I sort of took these piano classes to learn like a blues progression."