Eaux profondes (1981)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Michel Deville

Writers:

Florence Delay (writer)
Michel Deville (writer)

Release Date:

16 December 1981 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Melanie enjoys flirting and having little affairs. Her husband Victor seems to bear her antics with utmost calm and nonchalance...

Plot Keywords:

Swimming Pool | Perfume | Marital Strife | Female Nudity | Beaten To Death

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Melanie
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Vic Allen
Sandrine Kljajic	...	Marion
Éric Frey	...	Denis Miller
Christian Benedetti	...	Carlo Canelli
Bruce Myers	...	Cameron
Bertrand Bonvoisin	...	Robert Carpentier
Jean-Luc Moreau	...	Joël
Robin Renucci	...	Ralph
Philippe Clévenot	...	Henri Valette
Martine Costes	...	La maman de Julie
Evelyne Didi	...	Evelyn Cowan
Jean-Michel Dupuis	...	Philip Cowan
Bernard Freyd	...	Havermal
Anne Head	...	La directrice

Runtime:

Germany:94 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Gaumont

Movie Connections:

Version of Tiefe Wasser (1983) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Concerto for Harpsichord

Was Deville the right director here?

Deville was the perfect director for such light gallantries such as "Benjamin"(1968).And what about Highsmith? Patricia Highsmith 's books are deceptive:it is hard to adapt them badly for the screen while being harder still to adapt them well.To my eyes ,one director has succeeded :Alfred Hitchcock ("Strangers on a train" ),three have partially succeeded (René Clément "Monsieur Ripley" (the talented M.Ripley) Anthony Minghella (its remake) and Wim Wenders 's "Der Amerikanische Freund " (Ripley's game) .Claude Chabrol was not so successful with "cry of the owl".Claude Miller butchered the brilliant "that sweet sickness" (="Dites lui que je l'aime") "Eaux profondes" is intense psychological drama.The story of a man who is jealous and kills all his wife's lovers.He warns them before .Trintignant,a good choice,tells them so: "I kill them" in a smooth voice .He treats his wife like a big doll,the scene is the bathroom is telling.

There was in Highsmith's book an atmosphere ,a terrible progression which led to madness:the film has a tendency to simplify too much and its main drawback is to be too short.

When she was interviewed when the movie was released,Highsmith told the journalists she had appreciated the movie.Make up your own mind about it.