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Showing reviews 1-5 of 88
 Not especially credible December 20, 2008
Bradley F. Smith (Miami Beach, FL)
The dead bodies just continue to pile up here, but the cops never seem to catch on. No fingerpints? You'll have to suspend your disbelief to get through this silly genre exercise that revives a short story from the 1940s. It's an updated film noirish tale about a mom's desperate efforts to cover up what she mistakenly thinks is her gay 17-year-old son's involvement in a murder. Some suspense, but it's mostly kind of a laugh. Tilda Swinton is interesting, as usual.
 Riveting, Suspenseful; Tilda is Amazing! December 12, 2008
R. Gawlitta (Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tilda Swinton has been overlooked for many years; here she's given another opportunity to show her acting chops, and many awards and nominations came her way. I rented this little indie film because of buzz I recalled about her performance, and I'm very happy I did. Without blabbing away too much, she's a mother who finds herself in a situation that she doesn't fully understand, and makes a lot of bad decisions. Things only get worse, and escalate, and...well, Htchcock would've loved a script like this. Hitchcock aside, the writers and directors took a 1947 book, updated it a bit, and the result is a thoroughly satisfying suspense film that surpasses anything Hollywood has done in 30 years. Setting the film in Tahoe is a stroke of genius. Tilda Swinton avoids so many obvious acting cliches, providing a most mesmerizing portrayal of a woman in crisis. So much talk about the lack of great roles for women; Tilda blew 'em all away. There's able support from Goran Visjnik, playing a difficult role, bad guy who's questioning his destiny. The entire cast and crew of "The Deep End" deserves major praise. I can't believe I'm the first person to review this film. Good DVD extras, giving fine insight. Highly recommended.
 Taut little early masterpiece April 22, 2008
jasonhad
A mother raising her family mostly on her own while her husband is at sea for long spells, in an upper-middle class cottage on the shores of Lake Taho. Her self-absorbed son has been exploring his sexuality with a smarmy older man, and Mom intervenes in desperation. The smarm has a few too many and comes looking for his young paramour at the family home, with disastrous consequences that plunge Mom into even more desperate waters. Then things take a turn for the worse. This film isn't going to be on your "top 100 of all time" list, but it is a savvy effort with exceptional performances from the leads, great direction and craftful filming, top-notch editing, and decent script-writing. It has the feel of early Hitchcock with better film, and you'll find yourself returning to it every once in a while to refresh your memory of the fine performances by Vilnik and Swinton at their best. The score is haunting, and the scenery is too, despite the natural beauty of it all. The movie has a polish that belies its low-budget making, and despite the occasionally contrived events as Mom faces her dilemna, the movie is most satisfying. If you enjoy watching "The 39 Steps" every once in a while, you'll not be going off the deep end when you buy this - it's not an action-packed comicbook extravaganza, but a darned good flick for a quiet evening.
The Deep End July 25, 2007
John Farr
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In this vivid nail-biter, a remake of Max Ophuls's "The Reckless Moment," the underused, underrated Swinton gives a flawless performance as a woman who must carry on with the mundane details of her life while bearing a life-threatening burden alone. Visnjic excels as the conflicted middle-man, but Barry is most memorable as an impatient, cold-blooded gangster. Even with momentary graphic sex and some violence, the film's dramatic tension derives from Swinton's character, and our appreciation of one mother's lonely, desperate predicament. Taut and suspenseful, "The Deep End" is not to be missed.
Great movie! June 24, 2007
Constant Reader (Souderton, PA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a very interesting and suspenseful movie. You will be so interested in the unique characters and intense plot. Great acting, great movie. I highly recommend it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 88
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