I loved Deep Water. Think the whimsy can be attributed to the thrills and absurdity of real life, and how Deep Water addresses the idea of men who refuse to leave abusive relationships (the subject of a stage play I wrote two years ago called “May Divorce Be With You”–think Star Wars and you get the play on words).
Dark Water comes from the director of Fatal Attraction and Unfaithful, Adriene Lyne. Here he clunkily (but in a good ‘buckle up this is going to be a bumpy ride’) directs his way through this adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel. The screenwriters; Zach Helm and Sam Levinson, do yeomen’s work in making snappy dialogue with perfectly timed foibles…one of my favorite scenes is when Ben’s character’s voice cracks as he is surprised at the gorge by Tracy Letts, as well as all of Ben’s snarky comments.
Ben Affleck is a guy I find way too neanderthal to find attractive and hence, I always enter a movie’s he’s in like, ‘yeh right-whaddya gonna show me, Cave Man?’ But then dog gone it, he proves his worth! Re. The Way Back, damn good as a sympathetic character. Gone Girl, not so much, in that he was simply a stupid man.
But here in Deep Water, he redeems his character, while appearing to be a quiet cuckold, his character passive aggressively (emphasis on the aggressively) takes no prisoners.
I studied Ana de Armas and saw nothing I could do with my drab blondie appearance to capture any magic this drop dead gorgeous woman possesses. But can she really act? I mean it’s not hard to giggle and flirt.
The other actors were also very, very good. From all of Armas’s suitors, to Tracy Letts who I find sapio-sexually alluring, to Grace Jenkins, almost more adorable than Armas as their daughter.
Leave your morals at the door and just jump in. You only live once.
A sweet giggle followed by a cannonball into Deep Water
