The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.

Director:

Terence Davies

Writers:

Terence Rattigan (play), Terence Davies (adaptation)

Stars:

Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Ann Mitchell

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Ann Mitchell	...	Mrs. Elton
Jolyon Coy	...	Philip Welch
Karl Johnson	...	Mr. Miller
Rachel Weisz	...	Hester Collyer
Simon Russell Beale	...	Sir William Collyer
Tom Hiddleston	...	Freddie Page
Harry Hadden-Paton	...	Jackie Jackson
Sarah Kants	...	Liz Jackson
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Hester's Father
Barbara Jefford	...	Collyer's Mother
Mark Tandy	...	Edie and Ravenscroft Assistant
Stuart McLoughlin	...	Singing Man in Tube
Nicholas Amer	...	Mr. Elton (as Nicolas Amer)

Storyline

The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | based on play | marital separation | extramarital affair | suicide by gas | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Music Box Films [United States] Official site [United States]

Country:

UK Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Amor Profundo

Filming Locations:

Three Mills Studios, Three Mill Lane, Bow, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$123,841, 25 March 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,124,786, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Camberwell / Fly Films, Film4, UK Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Digital (Spanish dubbing mix)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

TIME magazine ranked Rachel Weisz's performance in the film as the fourth best performance of 2012 (November 2012), while New York Magazine named it the "Film Performance of the Year" (November 2012).

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Quotes

Hester Collyer: Lust isn't the whole of life, but Freddie is, you see, for me. The whole of life. And death. So, put a label on that, if you can.

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Connections

Version of Performance: The Deep Blue Sea (1994)

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Soundtracks

A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea
Traditional

User Reviews

Bride Over Troubled Waters

This film is recommended.

Based on Terence Rattigan's 1952 play, The Deep Blue Sea is stylish soap opera at its best, and an overly ripe melodramatic downer at its worst. The film is reminiscent of the type of films that were popular fare in the fifties. ( And please, don't confuse it with the similarly titled shark attack movie some years back. ) No blood is spilled in this movie adaptation, but many lives are destroyed as loss and suffering does take its toll.

It is post-war Britain. Ruins are everywhere, from the bombed-out buildings to the people who inhabit them. There is a drabness in their hopeless lives, their colorless clothes, and their everyday routines. One such person is Hester Collyer, an unhappy romantic soul, trapped in a comfortable but loveless marriage to Sir William, a wealthy judge. Of course this means only one thing: suicide or an affair is in the offing. Fortunately ( or unfortunately, as the case may be ) after she meets a dashing but lonely RAF pilot named Freddie, there is a temporary respite from her real world. Lust, sin, and passion become the missing strands to her unraveling world ( which is not too surprising when one sees Hester's blatant scarlet red coat that overtly signals a Prynne moment is upon us. No subtlety lost here. Code Red, or is that Coat Read? )

This period melodrama is terribly British with a capital B. All proper diction, words unsaid, and formal reserve. Everyone is so noble and refined. Writer / director Terence Davies evokes the right atmospheric mood as we become lost in Hester's memories. He has a fine visual eye for those bittersweet times and Davies sensitively recalls the aftermath of WWII most efficiently with his use of popular and classical music and strong imagery, especially the impressive Underground bomb shelter scene. After an overly slow beginning, the director paces his film quite well using sounds, silences, and pauses in the characters' reactions to their conversations most effectively in telling his tale of a love undone.

The film sporadically uses these moments to tell the story of the makings of a passionate love affair, but its fragmented structure never allows us to understand Hester's attraction and her rationale to her self-proclaimed changes in her life. She's portrayed as a sympathetic victim, yet this character chooses the very unhappy lifestyle that she now wallows in, and we moviegoers are unable to see the results of her actions. It's as if some parts to her past are missing and sketchy, especially the happier times.

As the damaged Hester, Rachel Weisz is quite smashing. This talented actress fills her slightly underdeveloped role with such clarity and depth. ( Her scene in the pub as she stares into her lover's eyes while becoming uninvolved with the rowdy goings-on during the sing- along of a Jo Stafford tune says more than mere words could have expressed. ) It is a powerful nuanced performance. Completing the love triangle is Simon Russell Beale as her concerned husband and Tom Hiddleston as her cad of a lover. Both actors create indelible contrasting personalities, although the character of Freddie comes off the worst of the pair. Solid support from Ann Mitchell as Hester's landlady and Barbara Jefford is Hester's judgmental mother-in-law round out this wonderful ensemble.

The Deep Blue Sea is a successful throwback to the the great David Lean film, Brief Encounter. Only this time, the encounter is not brief and fleeting, just fleeting. It takes the moviegoer back to a former time, unlike today, when movies had a heart and mind, and dare I say, soul. GRADE: B

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