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.
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.