Review: 'Deep Water' neither thriller nor erotic, sinks hard
ABC News
Director Adrian Lyne has a reputation as the master of erotic thrillers with such films as “Fatal Attraction,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Unfaithful” and “9½ Weeks.”
Meet Vic and Melinda Van Allen, the yin and yang of the country club circuit. He likes to brood; she likes to dance. He's a teetotaler; she's a lush. He rather likes monogamy; she likes to nuzzle other men in front of her husband. Actually, on second thought, maybe steer clear entirely of the Van Allens — or their movie.
“Deep Water,” despite an all-star team behind it, barely makes a splash. Although it is being billed as an erotic thriller, it's tedious and clunky. Trips to the supermarket are more exciting. Even the tagline — “The love story is never the whole story” — makes no sense.
Director Adrian Lyne has a reputation as the master of sexy mind games with such films as “Fatal Attraction,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Unfaithful” and “9½ Weeks.” But whereas those were taut, this is frighteningly slack. It takes a dysfunctional couple, stretches their meandering toxicity to silly lengths and then adds murder too late.
It stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as the battling Van Allens, he a wealthy computer chip maker who has retired young and she as a homemaker laser-focused on being a homewrecker by cheating on him. “You’re a weird guy,” she says to him. “So I’ve been told,” he replies. The stars give the film an extra frisson only because they dated in real life.
