User Reviews

Taking care of others often involves self-sacrifice, and mothers of most feather will put themselves in harm's way to shield their young. In the THE DEEP END, a modern retelling of Max Ophuls' 1946 thriller THE RECKLESS MOMENT, Margaret Hall is a mother of three willing to do whatever it takes to keep her family safe from the irrational forces that follow her teenage son home one night from a nightclub of ill repute. But mom, played with stoic intensity by Tilda Swinton, quickly learns that heroism doesn't fit on a calendar already packed with soccer practices, trumpet lessons and visits to the grocery store.

Superficially the story concerns a vicious run of bad luck. Noirish events are set in motion when Margaret tries to cover up the accidental death of her son's unsavory friend (Josh Lucas as a spookily playful predator). The next day a man with a dice tattoo on his neck knocks on her door and demands $50,000 to suppress a videotape linking her son to the death, which police have ruled a homicide. The dramatic heart of the film concerns Margaret's dealings with the blackmailer, cagily played by Goran Visnjic, ER's Slavic heartthrob in a less soapy but perversely related role. Mr. Visnjic is credible though never quite menacing as a predator in awe of, and ultimately vulnerable to, his tender prey.

Taken at this level THE DEEP END, luminously shot in the gambling resort of Lake Tahoe, is an eerie joy ride that leans heavily on coincidence to tangle then unknot its plot. But the presence of Tilda Swinton indicates that more is going on here than melodrama. Ms. Swinton is a brilliant post-feminist actress whose work sheds light on paradoxes of femininity and female power. Her earlier films include ORLANDO, in which she explored androgyny and immortality, and FEMALE PERVERSIONS, a Freudian critique of the feminist myth of "having it all." In THE DEEP END, Ms. Swinton's nuanced performance comments on motherhood as a source of both power and vulnerability. A woman may be willing to do anything for her son, as Margaret Hall clearly is, yet still be constrained by a "glass ceiling" of caregiving attachments that prevent her from achieving man-style success. In cinema, the latter typically means blowing the villains' brains out, something Margaret Hall might consider doing if she weren't so busy taking care of her kids and aging father-in-law.

Throughout the film Margaret tries but is unable to reach her husband, a Navy officer on an aircraft carrier somewhere in the mid-Atlantic. His unavailability is more than an inconvenience. Attempting to negotiate with the blackmailers, Margaret finds herself hamstrung when the bank refuses a critical withdrawal without her husband's say-so. Mr. Hall's conspicuous absence and his infirm father's burdensome presence amplify Margaret's predicament, showing how hollow the conventions of marriage and machismo can be. The fact that both men are soldiers, society's designated heroes, is no accident. They defend motherhood in the abstract while remaining blind to a real mother's needs.

Margaret Hall is Ms. Swinton's most reluctant feminist character to date, a woman whose maternal ferocity the family setting renders moot and who must ultimately rely on the kindness of strangers. Her performance transforms THE DEEP END from a good summer thriller to a dramatic critique of the politics of caregiving.

The myriad effects of the natural instincts of a mother are at the heart of this film, which explores the positive aspects, as well as the inherent flaws of those same instincts. The ways in which an ordinary person will react under extraordinary circumstances often produces results that are most inexplicable; and when it's a mother responding to a situation in which her son is involved, the results may, in fact, be absolutely incomprehensible. And in such cases, decisions made quickly in the shadows of the subjective are often revealed as unconscionable in the cold light of objectivity, a scenario examined by writers/directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel, in their tension laced drama, `The Deep End,' starring Tilda Swinton.

Margaret Hall (Swinton) lives with her family in a picturesque lakeside home in Tahoe City, Nevada; but her life is about to become less than that offered by her distinctive surroundings. Her husband is away at sea on an extended tour of duty, and the care and responsibility of raising their three children has fallen to her. And all is not well. Her seventeen-year-old son, Beau (Jonathan Tucker), an aspiring musician who hopes to garner a scholarship to study music at college, has become involved with a man, Darby Reese (Josh Lucas) who owns a bar, The Deep End; and once she is aware of it, it's a situation of no little concern for a mother.

For her son's welfare, Margaret knows that this relationship-- whatever the context-- must end, and she goes to Reese, insisting that he leave her son alone. There is some question as to whether or not he agrees, but regardless, late that night he shows up at Margaret's home, where he entices Beau to come outside with him. Things go badly, and by the next morning, Margaret is embroiled in a situation beyond her wildest nightmares. Blinded by fear and concern for Beau, she does something out of character for any rational person, yet within the parameters established by the unconditional love of a mother for her son. It's an act that brings more bad news to her doorstep, in the form of a man named Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic). And it's the beginning of a series of events that will take her into places darker than any she has ever known.

McGehee and Siegel adapted their screenplay from the novel `The Blank Wall,' by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, and it's a taut thriller, to be sure; but it is so singular of purpose that it decidedly becomes more of a character study that focuses on Margaret, and the effects of that natural bond between mother and son that provides the catalyst for her motivation and the impetus of her actions. It's a story that clearly illustrates how even the most discerning individual (and most especially a mother) will abandon reason in the heat of the moment, giving way to the most primitive and basic instincts for survival that are inherently a part of the human condition. And though MeGehee and Siegel maintain the tension of the situation throughout the film, it does wear a bit thin along the way, and at least one pivotal element of the plot is questionable, and strains the credibility of the overall story. The real interest of the film, however, is the study of what the mother/son relationship is really all about, and how affecting it can be, especially under extreme circumstances.

What really makes the film work, though, and what maintains interest, is the performance by Tilda Swinton as Margaret. And it's quite a feat, given the fact that the emotional boundaries she is given to explore are somewhat limited, as the conflict begins even as the film begins, and Margaret is driven on and presented in an emotional state that gives her very little latitude in which to operate. To her credit, however, Swinton finds all of the variables one could expect in what is basically a lone emotion, which encompasses concern and apprehension, and she conveys them admirably; it is, in fact, what keeps the film afloat. Her portrayal of Margaret is subtle, concise and introspective, and most importantly, comes across quite naturally; all of which makes her character and her actions-- which on the surface and in the cold light of day may seem questionable-- convincing.

As Alek, Goran Visnjic gives a solid performance, though it somewhat lacks the kind of emotional depth that could have made this character more than what it is. Whether it is the way the character was written, or the way it was acted, there is an ambivalence to Alek that makes him less than believable. He looks good on the surface, and Visnjic does have some nice touches, but he doesn't tap into the absolute credibility that he needs. And it makes one aspect of the film seem a little too pat, as if the character is there merely as a means to an end, to help the story along and tidy up the resolution. It's a minor weakness, not worthy of blame; suffice to say that something apparently was missed in the translation of the material from page to screen. In retrospect, Visnjic does a good job with what he is given to work with.

In a smaller, but pivotal role, Josh Lucas gives a good performance as Reese, creating a character that is repugnantly smarmy, a guy whose influence over one's son would be any mother's nightmare. Lucas does exceptionally well in this regard, and with comparatively little screen time; he uses his time well, however, as it is the nature of his character more than anything else that gives credence to Margaret's actions.

The supporting cast includes Peter Donat (Jack), Raymond J. Barry (Carlie), Tamara Hope (Paige) and Jordan Dorrance (Dylan). As a thriller, this one has merit; but viewed as a character study/drama, `The Deep End' is even more engrossing. It's flawed, but it's still smart, thought provoking entertainment-- the magic of the movies. 7/10.

It appears that either this movie works for you or doesn't. It worked for me for several reasons, not the least being the great performance by Tilda Swinton as Margaret, an upper-middle-class mother with an obsessive desire to protect her son. Swinton projects the image of a woman who can handle any situation; blackmail, the revelation of her son's sexual orientation, the notion that her son may be a murderer, taking care of her aging father-in-law, and running the family are all in a day's work. I was drawn into the story by the beautiful photography, the captivating music, and the plot twists. For whatever reason I did not dwell on plot holes but simply allowed myself to be absorbed. And, if you accept Margaret's almost pathologically obsessive devotion to her family, then most of what happens hangs together.

I found the unexpected relationship that develops between Margaret and the blackmailer to be interesting. The experience is more transformative for him than for her. I also like the way the tables were turned on the relationship between Margaret and her spoiled son. In the beginning his behavior was confusing to Margaret and he was not willing to talk about it and in the end Margaret's behavior was mysterious to her son and she was not willing to talk about it.

It was only the contrived ending that bothered me.

I cannot believe the negative remarks about this movie. I thought this movie was excellent. The majority of complaints on this board, are more about the lighting, sound and technical crap that regular people who go to the movies just don't look for. You go to a movie to get lost for a couple of hours and enjoy yourself. If your going to the movies only for the technical side of the movie, then why go at all.

This movie showed the extent that a mother would go through to protect her son and her family. This lady totally went above and beyond everything to protect her son from the truth, which he never found out.

The only real problem I had with this movie was that the word "Gay" was never said. Not once. Unless my hearing left me when it was said. It was referenced and even a little sex was shown, but the word was never said.

Other than that, I enjoyed this movie completely. Just Terrific!!!!!!!!

A very conventional film. If it was done in Europe, it would hold good chances for a remarkable movie - parents confronted with the homosexuality of their teenager male kids, crime zone penetrating bourgeois privacy, the mafiosi falling in love with the blackmail victim. But the film WAS done in the US, and it would take a Hitchcock to make a great movie out of the story of the mother trying to cover for the alleged crime of her son. The master (who was British after all!) is no longer available, so we are left with an American movie filmed slowly a la European. This is exactly what US directors seem to do worse, and it takes half of the screen time for the subject to develop. The third quarter is the best, but then the end comes - and this is the worse and most conventional part of the film. What we are left is the very good acting, a story that is memorable but needs to wait for a remake in a few years to make more of it.

Tilda Swinton as a determined mom attempting to cover up--against all possible odds--the accidental killing of a man at the hands of her gay son. Adapted from Elisabeth Sanxay Holding's novel "The Blank Wall", previously filmed in 1949 as "The Reckless Moment", "The Deep End" is a somber and stylish suspense-drama, but perhaps it was due to having two directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel (also the co-adaptors of the screenplay), that the film feels overstuffed, unwieldy. Swinton's performance is everything it should be and has to be: she's both focused and frazzled, crazed and in control. Her character is a straightforward woman forced into taking short-cuts, and it doesn't allow Swinton any of the eccentric flourishes the actress has become known for on the indie film circuit. Still, even somewhat muted, Swinton delivers; in fact, she's the whole picture. The production is fine and the film's ambience is narcotizing, yet the script is full of ready-made coincidences--the outlandish kind which eventually formulate into what critic Roger Ebert dubbed "the idiot plot." Overall, a gripping and unnerving movie, but this mainly due to the work of its leading lady, not the script nor the handling. **1/2 from ****

How our actions and decisions effect our own and others lives is the main theme of this intelligent thriller. Nicely paced, acted and directed it is the sort of thought provoking film that is well worth checking out. Tilda Swinton, British art house cinema fave, plays a mother who attempts to cover up a death which her son could be implicated in. What she didn't bargain for was being blackmailed by a handsome stranger who could also implicate her son in the death. The film avoids easy moralising and hysteria in favour of a measured and cooly thoughtful approach which pays dividends as the film is compelling and provocative.

Tilda Swinton puts on an Oscar-caliber performance, but my

disbelief of the plot in "The Deep End" went beyond suspension to

flat-out rejection.

No one so seemingly grounded in a "normal" life could become

SO STUPID so qucikly.

To think a mother capable of raising a scholarship winning/waterpolo playing son and a ballet dancing/automobile

fixing daughter would suddenly lose her grasp on reality is

impossible to believe.

A nice turn by Goran Visnjic as the bad guy with the good heart.

I saw this film last summer in the theaters and while it didn't do much for me at the time, something in it stayed with me. I rented it again and watched it twice more and am now convinced it is a terrific film.

A lot has been said about Swinton's portrayal of a frustrated housewife and she is brilliant, she carries the film with a head-on intensity.

But the screenplay should also be lauded. Yes, this is straight out of 1940's noir, but it all works.

A lot has been said about the sex and sexuality switch of Swinton's son, but it works perfectly. One might ask . . . why doesn't she ask her son about the body before she dumps it? But that would involve TALKING to her son about his sexuality. She'd rather bury the evidence, than ever admit to herself that her son is gay.

Over the course of the film, Swinton begins to understand her son better, she realizes that everyone has their secrets and desires. Her son also realizes the worry he has put his mother through. The last shot, of mother and son huddled together on the bed is of two strong-willed people finally understanding each other as equals. It's a wonderfully telling moment.

Be sure to watch this film more than once . . . it can be taken on many levels.

james

Their first endeavor was "Suture" 1993, and seven years after, Scott McGehee and David Siegel together gives us "The Deep End," another thinking man's thriller with action and mystery to solve. In "The Deep End," we the viewers get to know some information that the characters in the film do not know. But don't for a moment think that we know it all, or feel that you have to exert effort to try to solve anything. Just sit back and take it all in. The plot is so well written that as the story evolves, the change of events comes naturally in rhythm. The audience was quiet throughout the film's viewing. I watched with fascination and anticipation as McGehee and Siegel weaved their story. It's a production comparable to a Hollywood big budget thriller - the performances, cinematography, set and locale, music; every detail contributes meaningfully to the film.

The cast is solid. From the ever captivating Tilda Swinton as Margaret (Hall) the caring mother and perplexing wife, to Jonathan Tucker as Beau (Hall) the youthful son with a secret, to the steadily quiet Goran Visnjic the mystery man who turned up unexpectedly at the door of the Hall's family house, to Peter Donat's supporting role as Jack (Hall) the grandfather, to the brief appearances of Tamara Hope as Paige (Hall) the daughter and Jordan Dorrance as Dylan (Hall) the young son, and not to forget Josh Lucas as Darby Reese.

Cinematography is exquisite. It's refreshing to once again watch a film with sharp focus and crisp colors, use of wide angle coverage of the scenes (from the opening continuous shot of water-rippling pattern, the clarity of angle to the specific moods - be it outdoor or underwater, to the pull back of the camera to include the Hall's family house as being just another light at night among others against the mountain backdrop of a Tahoe lakeside community), and close-up's effectively applied at measured timing. All these details are not obvious during the viewing as we are quite caught up by what's happening to Margaret and Beau and mystery man Alek...

While German writer-director Tom Tykwer ("Winter Sleepers," "Princess and the Warrior") gives us drama surrounding the subject of Fate, both of McGehee and Siegel's features somehow also has "Fate" come into play in the storyline. They give us crime thrillers subliminally prompted by the element of Fate. (In "Suture," by strange happenstance, Dennis Haysbert is half-brother Clay Arlington who is black, to Michael Harris' Vincent Towers who is white - the film being shot in explicit black and white complemented the storyline well.)

Definitely, the refinement of the plot in "The Deep End" is the quality what Hollywood's "What Lies Beneath" 2000 did not have (in spite of the presence of Michelle Pfeiffer.) Thanks to Fox Searchlight Pictures for distributing this i5 Films production. Scott McGehee and David Siegel - smooth operators, they are. It seems worth the wait for their next nuance-filled filmic experience.

Other Tilda Swinton film appreciation: Sally Porter's "Orlando" 1992; Susan Streitfeld's "Female Perversions" 1996.

THE DEEP END is an original and suspenseful thriller, pitting a mother, played by Tilda Swinton, against a blackmailer, played by Goran Visnjic. It's the relationship between the two that drives this movie, as Visnjic's character begins to change because of the decency and honesty he encounters in Swinton's character. I gave this 8 out of 10 instead of 9 out of 10 because the ending is somewhat predictable, it's like something from a 1930's big Hollywood studio film. Nevertheless, a compelling script and convincing performances from all the actors make this worth seeing.

8/10

Tilda Swinton is definitely on the rise. I've admired her work ever since this movie, and I've noticed her getting more high profile films since, such as Adaptation and Constantine. She definitely pulls off a lead role very well in The Deep End, but unfortunately, the movie itself isn't as interesting as her performance. She's basically the only reason I kept watching as the story got weird. In The Deep End, she's the mother of a confused teen, who gets involved in his trouble lifestyle. As the plot thickens, she goes from trying to protect her son to committing some serious crimes herself. All in all, this is worth seeing only for her work in the role.

This film is like a great term paper: it flows like fire-water from a heated pitcher. I bought it on a caprice, only to rivet myself to the screen unexpectedly. Tilda Swinton is absolutely flawless (not to mention Visnjic) in a very strange tale about a mother's endless desire to protect. Not that I consider it a true flaw, but I would have liked for Margaret to tell Beau exactly why things had been so screwy and deadly for the past two days. The opportunity arises at the very end but she decides not. For me, I certainly would have explained to a seventeen-year-old boy that if he screws around with derelicts in seedy closets, people die. It's sort of an important part of growing up. However, directors McGehee and Siegel decide to omit that part. While the film is a must for thrill-seekers, I really felt that the boy should have been let in on the sticky, lethal web his juvenile lust did spin. BUT TILDA ROCKS! Just like this movie.

"The Deep End" was made as "Reckless Moment" over 50 years ago with Joan Bennett and James Mason in the starring roles. This older version was a more involving (and believable) film. The current movie might have made more of an impression if it had been filmed in black & white, like the original. In "Reckless Moment" it was a teenage daughter involved with an older man. Having not read the novel which is the source for both, cannot comment on which is closer to the original story.

The film really should have earned Tilda Swinton, an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, as Margaret Hall, mother of three whose military husband is away at sea. Her gay musician adolescent son gets mixed up with this guy, Darby. He ends up dead and his body is dumped in the deep end of Lake Tahoe. I have to say the scenery is authentic and beautiful. Anyway, Darby's accidental death brings a series of unfortunate events plaguing Margaret's conscious. She is blackmailed by Gorjan's character who is working for a crooked, corrupt extortionist. Gorjan's role turns out to be quite decent after he saves Margaret's father-in-law's life while she is on her way to see him at the post office. He is blackmailing her for fifty thousand. So nice of a guy, he doesn't take his share for the sex tape between Darby and Margaret's son. The film is not so bad. I don't care for the gay son who I think doesn't take his responsibility for his crimes or actions that put his mother in such turmoil. It should be him and not her.

This film is valuable mostly for the performance of Tilda Swinton as Margaret Hall, a prototypical soccer mom at the head of a privileged, overachieving family who finds herself acting against reason and propriety in order to protect her son, whom she believes has committed murder.

Margaret lives in Lake Tahoe (a sublime setting well-employed throughout to sustain the film's chilly, noir-ish tone) with her three children and her father-in-law, a retired naval officer, while her husband--also a naval officer--is away at sea. The film opens with Margaret approaching Darby Reese (Josh Lucas), the sleazy proprietor of a gay nightclub in Reno, who we quickly learn has been carrying on an affair with Margaret's 17 year-old son, Beau (Jonathan Tucker). Margaret--who has recently learned of the affair after her son was involved in a car accident while driving drunk with Darby Reese in the passenger seat--means to chase away her son's seducer, by any means necessary, including bribery.

Mr. Reese arrives at the Hall home that night, where he calls Beau out for a little fun in the boat house. Angered both by a recent confrontation with his mother and the revelation that Reese had agreed to abandon their relationship for a payoff from Margaret, Beau fights with Reese and then orders him to leave. But after Beau has left, Darby Reese has a fatal fall from the dock into the lake, and his body is discovered the next morning by Margaret, who assumes immediately that he was murdered by Beau.

With her husband away at sea and unreachable, Margaret decides impulsively to cover up Reese's disappearance to protect her son, who is in the process of applying to elite universities for a music scholarship (he is a trumpet prodigy; ironically, Margaret's encouragement of Beau's music talent indirectly led to the relationship with Darby Reese, whom Beau met on his weekly trips to Reno for private music lessons). She assumes her son is guilty of murder, but seems equally concerned about protecting him from the public revelation of his homosexuality. She can't reach her husband by phone, but even if she could, Margaret wouldn't know how to reveal the truth about their son's secret life to his father, whom she is quite certain will not be as tolerant as she.

Margaret is too consumed with preserving the appearance of normalcy to discuss the previous night's events with her son, who learns rather innocently from the newspapers of his lover's demise. All might be well but for the appearance of Alec (Goran Visjnic, of ER fame), a blackmailer who knows that Reese had visited the Halls on the night of his death and who possesses rather seamy videotaped evidence of Beau's relationship with Reese.

The film subsequently follows Margaret's desperate attempts to gather enough money to pay off her blackmailers. Her determination arouses sympathy in Alec, who gradually shifts his allegiance from his employer to the Hall family, as the film moves towards its somewhat predictable climax.

The elements are all familiar to viewers of suspense films; where 'The Deep End' deviates--and excels--is in its performances, which are universally understated and subtle. Tilda Swinton is one of the most magnetic actresses in film, but is less than a household name primarily because she works somewhat rarely as a film actress and is very selective about her roles (she is best known for her starring turn in 'Orlando,' based on the Virginia Woolf novel about a man who wakes up one morning in a woman's body). It's easy to see why Swinton was attracted to the role of Margaret Hall: she is basically a typical housewife, but with her husband away often for months at a time, she must act independently and without consultation. She is simultaneously trying to cover up a murder, pay off a blackmailer, tend to her ailing father-in-law, keep tabs on her son, and make sure the other kids get to ballet practice and school on time, all while maintaining her prim, well-organized demeanor so that not even the son whose love affair has set off the tragic chain of events is aware of what she's up to. Most affecting is the profound sense of devotion Swinton's Margaret displays for her eldest child, which is key in a story which could basically be summarized in the old cliché about what a mother will do for her children. The ultra-proper and ordered Margaret--very much the traditional stay-at-home mom and military wife--transforms into a desperate, feral creature who will do absolutely anything to protect her young.

The plot turns out to be more predictable than one would hope for, but the superb performances (in addition to Swinton's, Jonathan Tucker is excellent as Beau, and Goran Visjnic is also persuasive and compelling) make this one worth a look. The conclusion is a bit of a let-down, but otherwise, this is fine stuff.

The premise seems so unlikely that it may raise a few eyebrows, so some early suspension of disbelief is called for. In particular, one has to wonder what state of mind the protagonist must be in, to make some of the decisions she does. But then, "The Deep End" is less about the premise, subsequent events, or plot devices, and more about strength, bonds and love, that are often at their loudest and most poignant when unspoken. This film's message can be found in its quiet spaces, for those who know how to listen. A strong and different type of performance from Tilda Swinton, with perfectly-pitched supporting shows from Goran Visnjic and Jonathan Tucker. Minor characters are fairly two-dimensional, and so hammy that it's verging on camp, but they only serve as vehicles to emphasize traits of the main characters or to convey a certain atmosphere, and this does not overly detract from the message, or from one's enjoyment of the film. Worth a detour.

Who came up with the summary, "spirals out of control"? Margaret, is, if anything, too much in control! One waits throughout the movie for her control to break. Who put her in charge of her son's destiny? Why is she willing, even at the moment she "speaks the truth" in all but this one respect, to specify HERSELF as the one responsible for her son's lover's death? She'll do anything to help him go on to college as a music major, but she won't be able to shield him always from the consequences of his own bad judgment. And perhaps her horrified expression as she watches the video reflects this realization as much as it does her visceral horror at the activity taking place. He is the one who is "spiraling out of control"--HER control. She is trying, presumably at her husband's behest before he shipped out, to make & keep the world safe for her family. But their domestic tranquility is built on a foundation of corruption--that of nearby Reno & its gambling enterprises & related criminal activities. Perhaps at the end when she breaks down & weeps, she is finally letting go of her "sense of control," along with her innocence, which has been compromised much more deeply than that of her son.

If your planning a vacation to the Lake Tahoe area anytime soon The Deep End is the movie for you. It starts off in The Talented Mr Ripley tradition incorporating lovely scenery with thriller elements. Tilda Swinton single-handedly carried the movie on her small shoulders as Margaret Hawl and ultimately they just weren't strong enough.

Consider for example how the film is willing to left unsaid the confrontation we all expect between mother and son. Certainly the makers of the film cannot be faulted for wanting to leave things subtle and not break down into the usual by the books rule of dumb thrillers that calls for a confrontation. And yet I never understood Margaret's motivation. Her and her son had all of three lines in the film and I was expected to believe that four people had to suffer sad fates for him, her loyalty to him was never challenged, and he got away with it in the end. If only he had apologized to his mother it could have been all worthwhile. The movie didn't need the big confrontation about the crime the son committed but couldn't he have said "Mom I'm sorry that I've been worrying you lately. I didn't mean to upset you by hanging out with a 30 year old when I'm only 17 and getting into that car accident." I'm not saying the son should apologize for being gay at all (that's okay) but if I hooked up with a 30 year old guy at 17 years old my mom would be a tad bit worried as well. Instead The Deep End gives us this contrived ending where we expect the son to start asking his mother what's been going on lately and he instead asks if he can call anybody for her. Huh?

I did not believe for a single minute that the Goran Visnjic character was anything more than a complete loser who loved casinos in the end although Tilda Swinton appears to think I'm wrong. The star from ER phoned in his part and when he did say his lines he looked as though he was dying to leave the set to get back to his 5 million dollar penthouse. Please.

The Deep End might be a nice rental when you and your friends want to see a thriller with a woman who is forced to become more than a housewife to protect her family. Don't be prepared for any answers though. I kept wondering what the point was of having the grandfather/father-in-law in the film. I thought that maybe we could have seen how he would respond to the son being gay but no he's just filler for an ill-fated lucky break for Margaret. Unless your planning a trip to Lake Tahoe you'll probably be snoring in your seat by the time you get to see the scenery.

THE DEEP END / (2001) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

Lake Tahoe, the tenth deepest lake in the world, is a long, cold body of clear, turquoise water thriving at 6,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Isolated by snow-covered mountain tops, ponderosa pines, and upper class wood homes, this is the perfect backdrop for The Deep End.

The Deep End captures some of this harrowing atmosphere, but I wanted even more. The photography, by Giles Nuttgens, won the coveted Best Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival this year for its unflinching look at images of Lake Tahoe awash in moral tensions. The camera cuts through aquariums, dripping water faucets, bursting water bottles, and of course, across and beneath the lake's surface. On a photographic level, this is one great movie.

Writers/directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel found their inspiration for The Deep End from the little known 1940's novel The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. The Ladies Home Journal first published an abridged version of the story. It became so popular that the writer eventually made it into a novel. According to the film's press notes, even Alfred Hitchcook was impressed as evident when he chose the book for his classic anthology My Favorites in Suspense-1959. Holding's novel was the only full length feature book of fiction included on that list.

McGehee and Siegel previously worked on the independent film Suture. "In their day, stories like these were very subversive because they asked questions about the nature of families, about the limits of communication, and the loneliness of personal sacrifice," says Siegel of Holding's story. "We wanted to bring those same elements in a contemporary setting with characters that would be sympathetic and believable to people today."

Holding certainly did have an innate understanding that true suspense emerges not just from violence and mystery, but also from the fabric of everyday life. The Deep End examines a housewife named Margaret (Tilda Swinton) who protects her gay teenage son (Jonathan Tucker) by covering up the death of his lover (Josh Lucas). Did her son kill this person? Someone might know the truth behind this act of violence, but silence has a very high price tag.

A very involving introduction and first act suffer after the diabolical murder plot takes a downhill spiral into a different set of events. Alek Spera (Gordan Visnijc), who needs money for his boss (Raymond J. Berry), creates a blackmail scheme. The film goes downhill from here, but the overall product is far from boring.

That's largely because of the beautiful performances. Tilda Swinton, seen opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in 1999's The Beach, leads the cast with a powerhouse performance. Swinton paints a vivid, intriguing portrait of domestic serenity, peaceful ordinariness, and motherhood's merciful nature. She can move the audience with utter silence; her eyes exclude intelligence, instinct, and compassion. She completes what the movie leaves unfinished, including her character's adherence to routine and complete loss of moral compass.

Gordon Visnjic (Dr. Luka Kovac on "ER.") with his dark, brooding physique, creates a shadowy nature for his character. His motives remain a mystery; we never know why he does what he does. It lets the audience guess-but we do not have much to guess with. The film does not complete his character. He's one of the most interesting characters here, but Visnjic needs more to chew on.

The filmmakers comment about the hidden romantic feelings between Margaret and Alek. "It's the kind of romance I miss in movies. It's not explicit and it is not necessarily even realized, but it is there in a haunting, melancholic way," says Visnjic. Where? We never really grasp these potentially fascinating plot points because the movie never examines these emotions. This is the kind of material that would have taken The Deep End to another level of interest.

Picturesque Lake Tahoe is the setting of this story but there's the decadent Reno, NV lurking. This family is in deep water from the very beginning including a lakeside home, aquarium, leaky faucet, water bottles, health club pool and the watery grave for the dead drunk. We're drowning in this metaphor

There's evil in the deep end, which is the name of the bar that Margaret's (Tilda Swinton) first nemesis owns. She has old fashioned notions that her 17 year old son Beau (Jonathan Tucker) shouldn't be hanging with a 31 year old dude, particularly since they just had a major fender bender where alcohol was involved. Was I the only one curious about Beau's continued driving following an obvious DUI?

Once the body surfaces so do predatory opportunists with an incriminating video placing son and bar owner too close for comfort. The father, a military officer who's too much the gentleman to appreciate his son's uncloseted lifestyle, must be kept out of his loop. The price tag for domestic tranquility is beyond Margaret's reach and that dilemma only draws her in deeper.

Here we start to see the scrupulous extortionist Alek (Goran Visnjic). The good cop/bad cop ploy between both blackmailers, Alek and Carlie Nagle (Raymond J. Barry) and Margaret evolves into a relationship leaving the audience, and Margaret, agape. Tilda Swinton shows her remarkable range of perplexed expressions as well as a darn good American accent. She plays her part with the determination to protect her son regardless of the personal cost. Left to her own resources, the alpha female will defend her progeny through determination, wile and good fortune.

I had a boss who said he would rather be lucky than talented. He was lucky. Margaret is both. And Tilda Swinton is remarkably talented; for that we are lucky.

CyCy