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The Deep End

  • 20012001
  • RR
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
12K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Deep End (2001)
Trailer
Play trailer1:23
1 Video
30 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Mystery

A woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.A woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.A woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.

IMDb RATING
6.5/10
12K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Writers
    • Elisabeth Sanxay Holding(novel "The Blank Wall")
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Stars
    • Tilda Swinton
    • Goran Visnjic
    • Jonathan Tucker
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Writers
    • Elisabeth Sanxay Holding(novel "The Blank Wall")
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Stars
    • Tilda Swinton
    • Goran Visnjic
    • Jonathan Tucker
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 184User reviews
    • 91Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 19 nominations

    Videos1

    The Deep End
    Trailer 1:23
    The Deep End

    Photos30

    Tilda Swinton in The Deep End (2001)
    Raymond J. Barry and Goran Visnjic in The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic in The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Goran Visnjic at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Goran Visnjic at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Goran Visnjic at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton at an event for The Deep End (2001)
    Tilda Swinton at an event for The Deep End (2001)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tilda Swinton
    Tilda Swinton
    • Margaret Hallas Margaret Hall
    Goran Visnjic
    Goran Visnjic
    • Alek Speraas Alek Spera
    Jonathan Tucker
    Jonathan Tucker
    • Beau Hallas Beau Hall
    Peter Donat
    Peter Donat
    • Jack Hallas Jack Hall
    Josh Lucas
    Josh Lucas
    • Darby Reeseas Darby Reese
    Raymond J. Barry
    Raymond J. Barry
    • Carlie Nagelas Carlie Nagel
    • (as Raymond Barry)
    Tamara Hope
    Tamara Hope
    • Paige Hallas Paige Hall
    Jordon Dorrance
    Jordon Dorrance
    • Dylan Hallas Dylan Hall
    Heather Mathieson
    • Sue Lloydas Sue Lloyd
    Holmes Osborne
    Holmes Osborne
    • Loan Officeras Loan Officer
    Richard Gross
    Richard Gross
    • Deputy Sheriffas Deputy Sheriff
    Kip Martin
    Kip Martin
    • BVDas BVD
    Frankie Loyal
    Frankie Loyal
    • Barrish Brotheras Barrish Brother
    • (as Franco Delgado)
    Kip Ellwood
    • Male Nurseas Male Nurse
    Margot Krindel
    • Jackieas Jackie
    Michael Pizzuto
    • Heavy-Set Officeras Heavy-Set Officer
    Tajma Soleil
    • Female Nurseas Female Nurse
    F.W. McGehee
    • Music Teacheras Music Teacher
    • Directors
      • Scott McGehee
      • David Siegel
    • Writers
      • Elisabeth Sanxay Holding(novel "The Blank Wall")
      • Scott McGehee
      • David Siegel
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    With her husband perpetually away at work, a mother raises her children virtually alone. Her teenage son is testing the waters of the adult world, and early one morning she wakes to find the dead body of his gay lover on the beach of their rural lakeside home. What would you do? What is rational and what do you do to protect your child? How far do you go and when do you stop? —Sujit R. Varma
    • gay teenager
    • gay
    • dead body
    • murder investigation
    • death of lover
    • 128 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Romance
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for some violence and language, and for a strong sex scene
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Margaret's date of birth is November 5, 1960. That's also Tilda Swinton's date of birth.
    • Goofs
      After being slapped around, when following Alek with her son, the blood on Margaret's lip disappears and reappears several times.
    • Quotes

      Margaret Hall: We don't have the money.

      Alek 'Al' Spera: You have to get the money. Is that not clear enough?

      Margaret Hall: It's $50,000. It is not the kind of thing that everyone can just go out and get.

      Alek 'Al' Spera: Have you spoken with your husband?

      Margaret Hall: He can't be reached. He's on a carrier somewhere in the nor - This is truly none of your business.

      Alek 'Al' Spera: What about the old man? Well, you have to try harder.

      Margaret Hall: "Try harder?"

      Alek 'Al' Spera: I don't think you're really trying.

      Margaret Hall: Really?

      Alek 'Al' Spera: Yes.

      Margaret Hall: Well, maybe you should explain "really trying" to me, Mr. Spera. Tell me - how would you be "really trying" if you were me? But you're not me, are you? You don't have my petty concerns to clutter your life and keep you from trying. You don't have three kids to feed, or worry about the future of a 17-year-old boy who nearly got himself killed driving back from some kind of a nightclub with his 30-year-old friend sitting drunk in the seat beside him. No, these are not your concerns. I see that. But perhaps you're right, Mr. Spera. Perhaps I could be trying a little harder. Maybe sometime tomorrow between dropping Dylan at baseball practice and picking up my father-in-law from the hospital, I might find a way to try a little harder. Maybe I should take a page from your book: go to the track, find a card game. Maybe I should blackmail someone. Or maybe you have another idea. I mean, maybe you have a better idea of how I might try a little harder to find this $50,000 you've come here to steal from me.

      Alek 'Al' Spera: You're right. I'm not you. I don't - This is only a business opportunity. That's all.

    • Crazy credits
      Wild Bill Laczko - Transportation
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Million Dollar Hotel/The Invisible Circus/Head Over Heels (2001)
    • Soundtracks
      En Forme de Habanera
      Written by Maurice Ravel

      Performed by Nelson Padgette (piano) and Ronnie Buttacavoli (trumpet)

    User reviews184

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Effective Character Study
    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.
    helpful•28
    7
    • jhclues
    • May 9, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 31, 2001 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Dipsiz
    • Filming locations
      • Tahoma, California, USA
    • Production company
      • i5 Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $8,823,109
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $141,852
      • Aug 12, 2001
    • Gross worldwide
      • $10,031,529
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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