Shadows on the Wall | Deep Water

Deep Water

dir Adrian Lyne
scr Zach Helm, Sam Levinson
prd Arnon Milchan, Guymon Casady, Benjamin Forkner, Anthony Katagas
with Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Lil Rel Howery, Dash Mihok, Finn Wittrock, Kristen Connolly, Jacob Elordi, Brendan C Miller, Grace Jenkins, Rachel Blanchard, Michael Braun
release US/UK 18.Mar.22
22/US Amazon 1h55

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Sleek and insinuating, this dark mystery holds the attention with its intense characters and offbeat situations, orchestrated expertly by veteran director Adrian Lyne. Based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, the film is packed with twisted interactions, as people struggle with their reactions to each other and to the messiness they create around them. So while the story's gyrations sometimes feel overwrought, the characters remain skilfully grounded.

In a small town, Vic and Melinda (Affleck and de Armas) have a young daughter Trixie (Jenkins) and an untraditional marriage. They love each other, but Vic silently accepts Melinda's many liaisons with other men. To intimidate a young, dumb lover (Miller), Vic casually claims to have killed another of her male companions. And these words come back to haunt Vic as he and Melinda taunt each other in ways that are increasingly menacing, especially with two more young men (Elordi and Wittrock) hanging around. So it's not surprising that he becomes a murder suspect.

Snaky tentacles of jealousy weave through every moment of Vic and Melinda's interaction, unsubtly exposing the fraudulent nature of their relationship. They may agree to be open, but they're rarely honest and have very little trust in each other. So it's clear that something nasty is coming. With a story that's punctuated by a series of lively parties and strained confrontations, the writing, direction and performances manage to be nicely textured, balancing the moments of passion with humour and some much deeper emotions.

Affleck gives a gritty, thoughtful performance as the tortured Vic, although it's difficult to sympathise with someone who only has himself to blame. And the narrative doesn't help make him likeable. He has terrific chemistry with de Armas, whose magnetic presence gives the film a bright spark of energy while repeatedly shifting the power dynamic. Strong side characters include the terrific Howery and Mihok as Vic's comical pals and a glowering-blustering Letts as a mystery writer who takes rather too much interest in Vic's case.

Quite a few story details swirl around on-screen, offering both witty distractions and somewhat clunky insight. And of course, several sequences provide jolts of suspense, often through gritted-teeth. It's solidly assembled by Lyne, as well as cinematographer Eigil Bryld and composer Marco Beltrami. But as the story spirals into psychopathic thriller territory, the premise leaves the movie feeling both thin and rather corny. Because it's essentially just another tale of the destructive nature of the green-eyed monster.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 17.Mar.22

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