THE DEEP END

"The Deep End" is the second movie based on a 1947 novel called The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. The first was "The Reckless Moment" (1949) with James Mason and Joan Bennett. The novel was chosen for republication by Alfred Hitchcock for his 1959 anthology called My Favorites in Suspense. I never read the book or the anthology, so it’s hard to say what influence it had on the shape of the movie. The collaborative team of Scott McGehee and David Siegel have obviously updated Holding’s tale to the present with a more contemporary view of society’s sexual mores, but their use of subjective sound to heighten suspense is a distinctive trademark of the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, that goes back to his first sound film, "Blackmail" from 1929. And Blackmail is exactly what drives the plot of "The Deep End."

"The Deep End" asks how far a mother, Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton), is willing to go to protect her musically gifted son, Beau (Johnathan Tucker), after she discovers the body of the boy’s adult lover, Darby Reese (Josh Lucas) , anchored to the shoreline less than a hundred yards from her Lake Tahoe home. Margaret tries to distance any link between Beau and the dead man by moving the body to the far side of the lake. Later Beau denies having seen anyone the night before. Although perfectly willing to accept Beau’s homosexuality, it is never clear whether Margaret suspects her son of foul play or bearing witness to an unfortunate accident. She is certainly glad to be rid of the man - she tries to buy him off at his night club, The Deep End, in the opening scene - yet there is this nagging lack of moral conviction that makes her eagerness to get rid of the body seem contrived. The narrative reveals Beau’s guilt or innocence at the onset robbing the audience of the chance to participate in the angst that Margaret should be feeling. She seems not to care, so why should the viewer? This turns her actions into a patently false plot device that strains the test of credibility. It’s as if a piece of the foundation that is supposed to support the blackmail scheme that surfaces after the recovery of Reese’s body by the authorities has been overlooked.

The multi-leveled performances of Tilda Swinton and Gorin Visnjic as Alek Spera, the blackmailer who slinks into her life make you want to forget the movie’s shortcomings. It seems Reese owes Alek’s partner, a local gangster named Carlie Nagle (Raymond Barry), some money. He has incriminating evidence that ties Beau to Darby Reese’s fate. Since they believe Beau killed his debtor, it is decided that Margaret must pay the debt. But what’s a mother to do when she has to jockey her daughter back and forth to school, take care of her elderly father-in-law, and protect her son’s future? Her primary source of income is from a Navy husband who is on the other side of the world, so he can’t help her.

At first, Alek gives the illusion of being a reluctant participant and forced to be a middleman. He says it’s just business. Through nuance, gesture, and circumstance, an unspoken affection for Margaret seeps into his dealings with her. When he helps Margaret in a crisis with her father-in-law, she can only be thankful. Alek’s actions are clearly not that of a cold blooded predator. Margaret recognizes a sadness in his life while he begins to have his doubts about his role as Nagle’s middleman. Alek’s idea of business begins to fizzle because of his admiration for Margaret’s grace under pressure. He soon realizes he is in no win situation. He has nothing to gain while Margaret has everything to lose. The players are soon dancing around each other like pieces on a chess board. Alek skulks in the background occasionally telegraphing his feelings and sympathy for Margaret while Nagle lays cautiously out of sight waiting for his partner to deliver the goods. Nagle wants his money or her blood.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel keep the action moving briskly, using sound, color and composition to heighten suspense and convey mood. The award winning cinematography by Giles Nuttgens reflects states of mind through the murkiness of Lake Tahoe’s depths and the lurking shadows that surround Margaret Hall. "The Deep End" is obviously made by a team of skilled filmmakers who know how to use the tools of their craft, but their failure to tweak the narrative at one of its most crucial moments undermines all that follows. Consequently, the movie’s individual parts are greater than the whole. "The Deep End" is still worth a look for the mesmerizing performances of its key players, Tilda Swinton and Gorin Visnjic.

Copyright 2001

"The Reckeless Moment" (1949) - Max Ophuls directed this version of Ms Holding’s novel with stellar performances by James Mason as the blackmailer and Joan Bennett

as his victim.

"Blackmail" (1929) - Alfred Hitchcock’s first talkie started as a silent film. The opening sequence has almost no dialogue with audio effects dubbed in. This holds up surprisingly well given its age. A woman kills her rapist. A blackmailer gets the upper hand when he learns her boyfriend is the investigating officer. Anny Ondra’s had a foreign accent so Hitch dubbed her voice. Cyril Ritchard, the renowned British stage actor who played Captain Hook in Mary Martin’s 1950’s TV adaptation of the musical version of Peter Pan, is in this.

"Blackmail" (1939) - This is worth a look just for Edward G. Robinson as a man who serves time for something he didn’t do. Gene Lockhart is the man who hounds him.

"Blackmailed" (1951) - French director, Marc Allegret, directed Dirk Bogarde and Mai Zetterling in this English production about blackmail victims doing in the cause of their angst. Co written by Roger Vadim. Also with James Robertson Justice, Michael Gogh, and Wifred Hyde White.

Scott McGehee’s and David Siegel’s debut feature.

"Suture" (1993) - This is a weird tale about two estranged brothers, Vincent (Michael Harris) and Clay (Dennis Haysbert) reunited after the murder of their father. Vincent plots to kill Clay and make it look like his own suicide. They are supposed to resemble each other but one is white and the other black. Their racial difference is never acknowledged in the movie. It’s a ruse intended to make the audience ask questions about identity and ponder what characteristics make us who we are. Plastic surgery and amnesia add to the mayhem. The only thing that almost makes it work, not unlike "The Deep End," is that the actors play it straight making you want to forget the movie’s bizarre premise.