The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)

Director:

Ulu Grosbard

Writers (WGA):

Jacquelyn Mitchard (book)
Stephen Schiff (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The search for her son was over. The search for her family was just beginning.

Plot:

The Deep End of The Ocean is a film about a family's reaction when Ben, the youngest son is kidnapped and then found nine years later, living in the same town, where his family had just moved.

Plot Keywords:

Chicago Illinois | Healing | Kidnapper | Childhood Trauma | Child Kidnapping

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Beth Cappadora
Treat Williams	...	Pat Cappadora
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Candy Bliss
Jonathan Jackson	...	Vincent Cappadora - Age 16
Cory Buck	...	Vincent Cappadora - Age 7
Ryan Merriman	...	Sam Karras / Ben Cappadora - Age 12
Alexa Vega	...	Kerry Cappadora
Michael McGrady	...	Jimmy Daugherty
Brenda Strong	...	Ellen
Michael McElroy	...	Ben Cappadora - Age 3
Tony Musante	...	Grandpa Angelo
Rose Gregorio	...	Grandma Rosie
John Kapelos	...	George Karras
Lucinda Jenney	...	Laurie
John Roselius	...	Chief Bastokovich

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35554) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

After Pat and Beth have a fight (following Ben's disappearance), Pat goes for a ride in his car and young Vincent comes along to smooth the waters. In his hand, he plays with a cassette tape. It is the soundtrack to Grease 2 (1982), which starred Michelle Pfeiffer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Beth arrives at the hotel, she is wearing boots and socks when she exits the car, but inside the hotel she is wearing sandals

Quotes:

Candy Bliss: This is a nice imitation of a life you've got here.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

Soundtrack:

Energy

A gentle healing movie -- presenting a different point of view on missing children and family integrity

What composes a family unit: (according to the dictionary) all the members of a household; those who share one's domestic home. What is home: An environment or haven of shelter, of happiness and love. So the center of this story circles around a family at home.

The film's focus being more on the mother portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer, the father, Treat Williams' character, does seem to be not as detailedly described (then again, the film might extend to a saga). The story being told we can easily follow. There's a lot of grounds and aspects the film tries to cover --- lots of nuances of feelings and emotions involved in a family unit which experienced the event of a missing child. There is a leap of 9 years. It also includes the aspect of a family that adopted a child, and the feelings of the child in question are explored. The film works as a mystery. There are clues to the suspense. At one point, we have a glimpse of a lost child parent network scenario. The various characters' emotions mount and ebb. Besides sadness and anguish, there are momentary family celebrations and joy depicted. All in all, it's a decent family movie.

Besides Michelle Pfeiffer's tour de force performance of the frustrated, fighting the odds mother, and Treat Williams as a seemingly macho head of the family figure, Jonathan Jackson as the teenage eldest son held his own and delivered a superb performance. The guilt he carries, being the eldest, of losing his younger brother -- how the parents both did not have harsh words on him or questioned his lack of duty as the older brother made it more uneasy for him, and these feelings were subtly displayed as the supporting "backbone" to the whole story. The possible phenomenon of missing children parents focusing only on their own immediate feelings and trepidation and not attempting to explore with the other siblings within the same family unit as to how they felt about the whole event -- the assumption that grown-ups know more of the realities and harshness of life, needs a refreshing outlook: let's get down to the children's level and also be there for them (sometimes a simple hug can dissipate nameless grudges or discomforts). All siblings involved should be taken into consideration and we need to take the time to respect the children's sentiments without simply dismissing them -- this is vital to the integrity of a family unit in distress. Time will heal and fate takes a hand. There's no preparation for such an event, and we can't push things -- things, human healing, take their own course.

Another missing child movie came to mind is "Without A Trace" 1983, with Kate Nelligan as the mother in distress. I vaguely remember there's a rather scary movie called "The House Under the Trees" 1971, with Faye Dunaway and Frank Langella, also dealt with looking for lost or trapped children.

Director Ulu Grosbard has directed several diverse films, yet their core storyline has a palette of family strife and complex human elationships -- The Subject Was Roses 1968: a veteran trying to live with his parents at home (Martin Sheen, Patricia Neal); Straight Time 1978: a small time thief trying to go straight (Dustin Hoffman); Falling In Love 1984: a man and a woman trying to keep up with their extramarital love (Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep); and strained emotions between siblings (True Confessions 1981: two brothers, a cop (Robert Duvall) and a priest (Robert De Niro); Georgia 1995: two sisters, an accomplished singer (Mare Winningham), and a not so accomplished singer (Jennifer Jason Leigh).