Direction: Adrian Lyne
Country: USA
20 years after a so-so adaptation of Claude Chabrol’s The Unfaithful Wife, the distressingly erratic American filmmaker Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction; 1987; Indecent Proposal, 1993) returns with Deep Water, a crippled erotic thriller starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. They form a discredited married couple who, no longer bonded by love, agrees to an open relationship where the lack of limits becomes intolerable. While she takes sexual partners home, he makes sure to get rid of them in the most discreet manner possible.
The trouble with this film begins with its story, which never plays fair with the audience. Lyne doesn’t explore the dark side; he merely exploits it, and nearly every scene becomes ridiculous and tedious. Moreover, this is another failed effort at making Affleck a decent actor, whereas Armas is far from convincing either in her uncontrolled sexual impulses and provocations.
Overall, Deep Water is a poor effort; one that’s difficult to forgive. In addition to the unlikable characters and an abominable screenplay by Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction, 2008) and Sam Levinson (Euphoria TV series, 2019-2022), who worked in accordance with Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name, the film is turned into a further embarrassment through forced coincidences, the absence of thrilling moments, and an unremarkable execution. Believe it or not, its most outstanding achievement was making me laugh without even trying to be funny.
