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Deep Water Movie Review: Trashy Editing And Screenplay Let Down Ben Affleck & Ana De Armas' Performance
Deep Water may have begun with great intent however, the end product is not at its best. Best skipped for other releases in this month
Available
On:
Amazon
Prime
Video
Language:
English
Duration:
115
Plot: The story follows Victor Van Allen (Ben Affleck) a well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce. However, when her lovers start to disappear and turn up dead he becomes a prime suspect in the cases.
Review: Deep Water is directed by Adrian Lyne, best known for erotic films with thrill and psychological twists. The film adapted from Patricia Highsmith's crime novel of the same name stars ex-couple Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas. It was during the filming of this movie when the two met and their brief relationship began. The film also marks director Adrian's return after 20 years.
The two seem like the perfect combination of a crime thriller with an erotic tone - given Ben has been unable to leave behind his performance as a creepy husband turned victim since Gone Girl, and Ana most recently was seen as the sex icon in the bond film. However, both are not enough to save this film from something that went drastically wrong during pre and post-production.
The film begins with a simple family of Victor Van Allen (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana De Armas), both are seen taking care of their loving daughter. However, as their day proceeds, it becomes evident that other than their daughter the two have nothing else left holding them together. The seemingly loveless marriage only shows sparks in awkward ways as Vic lets her have extramarital affairs in the name of love while she teases him with a number of lovers, hoping it will evoke the lost passion among them.
However, the understanding of the two characters comes at a stretch of imagination at the audience's expense. Ben often shows up with the same brooding expression throughout the run time, he does raise the level of creepy pretty well, however, it is the screenplay and editing that does him wrong in the second half of the film. Ana keeps things interesting with several shades to her character and performance, but the makers didn't give her enough to push the plot forward alone.
The story mainly follows Vic, whose snail obsession, which makes several appearances also leaves no impact on any part of the plot or the deaths that follow. At the beginning of the film, Ana has already lost one of her lovers who Ben widely claims of killing to scare her newest lover and plays it off as a joke. After he also goes missing, the list of lovers continues to grow so does the body count, eventually making the audience paranoid enough to think, is the daughter involved?
The screenplay plays with the idea of Vic being sadistic, the ideal husband, a victim to Melinda's manipulation or just outright psycho. But within three minutes it becomes evident how her lovers are missing, the big revelation will leave you waiting for the declaration of a misdirect, which never comes. The plot just continues to prove its revelation for another hour and a half without consequence, or underlying explanations.
Notably, the film has been on the floors for over two years, originally set to release in 2020, the film was postponed due to the pandemic and the Disney-Fox takeover, making it an unusual release for Disney due to its erotic genre - which could also explain the editing mishaps.
Overall, Deep Water may have begun with great intent however, the end product is not at its best. Ana De Armas does her best to keep moving forward but it is her character's boring husband, Vic's perspective that keeps things dull and snail-like.
