The Deep End (film)
Encyclopedia
The Deep End is a 2001 film that was written and directed by David Siegel
and Scott McGehee
. It stars Tilda Swinton
, Goran Visnjic
, Jonathan Tucker
and Josh Lucas
and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures
. The film was very loosely adapted from the novel The Blank Wall by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding
(filmed before by Max Ophüls
as The Reckless Moment
). The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival
where English cinematographer Giles Nuttgens
won the Best Cinematography award.
life in Tahoe City, California
. Her husband is a pilot on the aircraft carrier
USS Constellation
. She is startled to discover that her son Beau (Tucker), a high school senior, has been having a sexual affair with 30 year-old Reno, Nevada
night club owner Darby Reese (Lucas). The affair becomes apparent when a drunken Beau wrecks his car returning from Reno one night. The next day, Margaret visits Reese's nightclub, The Deep End, to demand that he stay away from her son. Reese offers to stay away for $5,000. Margaret attempts to engage her son about his sexual orientation
, to no avail. The two have an argument that culminates with Margaret forbidding Beau from visiting Reno again.
That night, Reese secretly visits Beau and the two meet in the boathouse. Beau confronts him about asking his mother for money. The two argue, eventually coming to blows. As Beau returns to the house, Reese leans on a railing, causing it to collapse, and falls into the water, impaling himself on an anchor.
The next morning, Margaret discovers Reese's body on the beach. Margaret removes the body from the beach and dumps it in a cove. The body is soon discovered and the police investigate it as a homicide. Soon after, a man named Alek Spera (Visnjic) confronts Margaret with a tape of Darby and Beau having sexual relations. Alek demands $50,000 in 24 hours or he and his partner will turn the tape over to the police, which would implicate Beau in Reese's "murder".
Margaret struggles unsuccessfully to get the money. Just as she is to meet Alek the next day, her father-in-law suffers a heart attack. Alek shows up at the house and helps Margaret revive her father-in-law. Alek pushes Margaret to get the money and schedules a meeting for the following day.
Nagle, Alek's blackmail partner, is livid when the money is not delivered. He questions Alek's motives as he does not explain the reason why Margaret did not have the money.
Alek calls Margaret the next day and tells her that she needs to get $25,000 instead as he will not take his share of the blackmail money. During this time, Beau becomes suspicious of Margaret's behavior.
Because her car won't start, Margaret takes a cab to her meeting with Alek. She first pawns her jewelry but receives only $12,000. As Alek drives her back to Tahoe, he tells her that Nagle has lost the advantage of the tape because a man named Donnelly was arrested for the murder of Reese. Margaret tells Alek that Donnelly didn't kill Reese because she did. Alek doesn't believe her. He drops her off at the hospital to pick up her father-in-law, but Beau has already taken him home. Margaret takes a cab home where Nagle waits for her. Nagle calls Alek with the news that Donnelly will be released and that he still wants the full $50,000. Alek races to Margaret's home just as Nagle and Margaret meet.
Nagle forces Margaret to the boat house where they argue. Nagle is convinced she is lying about not being able to raise the money. Nagle begins beating Margaret when Alek arrives. The two men scuffle, and after Nagle injures Alek's arm with a hook, Alek strangles Nagle to death. Margaret attempts to take responsibility for Nagle's death, but Alek takes the body away in Nagle's car. Margaret attempts to follow in Alek's car but cannot drive a stick shift and gets Beau to help her.
As they drive looking for Nagle's car, Margaret sees the car overturned in a ditch. She attempts to free Alek, who is critically injured. Alek pleads with her to leave before the police arrive. Margaret stays until Alek dies. Back at home, Margaret, in a state of distress, is comforted by Beau. The camera then pulls back, as the scene shifts to the exterior of the house, and the audience hears another phone call coming in from the absent husband, which Beau's sister answers. The Halls' normal life resumes.
David Siegel
David Siegel is an American motion picture screenwriter and director, and part of a long-standing writing-directing team with filmmaker Scott McGehee.-Filmography:*Suture *The Deep End *Bee Season *Uncertainty...
and Scott McGehee
Scott McGehee
Scott McGehee is an American film director and screenwriter. He is a Columbia University graduate, born in California, but currently residing in New York City.He is half of a long-standing writing-directing partnership with filmmaker David Siegel....
. It stars Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton
Katherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton is a British actress known for both arthouse and mainstream films. She has appeared in a number of films including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, The Beach, We Need to Talk About Kevin and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her...
, Goran Visnjic
Goran Višnjic
Goran Višnjić is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the hit television series ER...
, Jonathan Tucker
Jonathan Tucker
Jonathan Moss Tucker is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles in the movies The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostage, In the Valley of Elah and The Ruins, and The Black Donnellys on television....
and Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures, established in 1998, is a film division of Fox Filmed Entertainment alongside the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox...
. The film was very loosely adapted from the novel The Blank Wall by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding
Elizabeth Sanxay Holding
Elisabeth Sanxay Holding was an American novelist and short story writer who primarily wrote detective novels in the hardboiled school of detective fiction.-Life:...
(filmed before by Max Ophüls
Max Ophüls
Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
as The Reckless Moment
The Reckless Moment
The Reckless Moment is a film noir melodrama directed by Max Ophüls, produced by Walter Wanger, and released by Columbia Pictures with Burnett Guffey as cinematographer. Starring Joan Bennett and James Mason, the film is based on The Blank Wall , a novel written by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding...
). The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
where English cinematographer Giles Nuttgens
Giles Nuttgens
Giles Nuttgens BSC, is a British cinematographer. He is best known to fans of independent art house fare for his work on Deepa Mehta's "Elements trilogy", consisting of the films Fire , Earth and Water , and to general audiences for his work as cinematographer on the big-budget science fiction...
won the Best Cinematography award.
Plot
Margaret Hall (Swinton) and her family live a seemingly upper middle classUpper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
life in Tahoe City, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Her husband is a pilot on the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
USS Constellation
USS Constellation
Four ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Constellation, in honor, according to the US Congress, of the "new constellation of stars" on the flag of the United States....
. She is startled to discover that her son Beau (Tucker), a high school senior, has been having a sexual affair with 30 year-old Reno, Nevada
Reno
Reno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...
night club owner Darby Reese (Lucas). The affair becomes apparent when a drunken Beau wrecks his car returning from Reno one night. The next day, Margaret visits Reese's nightclub, The Deep End, to demand that he stay away from her son. Reese offers to stay away for $5,000. Margaret attempts to engage her son about his sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, to no avail. The two have an argument that culminates with Margaret forbidding Beau from visiting Reno again.
That night, Reese secretly visits Beau and the two meet in the boathouse. Beau confronts him about asking his mother for money. The two argue, eventually coming to blows. As Beau returns to the house, Reese leans on a railing, causing it to collapse, and falls into the water, impaling himself on an anchor.
The next morning, Margaret discovers Reese's body on the beach. Margaret removes the body from the beach and dumps it in a cove. The body is soon discovered and the police investigate it as a homicide. Soon after, a man named Alek Spera (Visnjic) confronts Margaret with a tape of Darby and Beau having sexual relations. Alek demands $50,000 in 24 hours or he and his partner will turn the tape over to the police, which would implicate Beau in Reese's "murder".
Margaret struggles unsuccessfully to get the money. Just as she is to meet Alek the next day, her father-in-law suffers a heart attack. Alek shows up at the house and helps Margaret revive her father-in-law. Alek pushes Margaret to get the money and schedules a meeting for the following day.
Nagle, Alek's blackmail partner, is livid when the money is not delivered. He questions Alek's motives as he does not explain the reason why Margaret did not have the money.
Alek calls Margaret the next day and tells her that she needs to get $25,000 instead as he will not take his share of the blackmail money. During this time, Beau becomes suspicious of Margaret's behavior.
Because her car won't start, Margaret takes a cab to her meeting with Alek. She first pawns her jewelry but receives only $12,000. As Alek drives her back to Tahoe, he tells her that Nagle has lost the advantage of the tape because a man named Donnelly was arrested for the murder of Reese. Margaret tells Alek that Donnelly didn't kill Reese because she did. Alek doesn't believe her. He drops her off at the hospital to pick up her father-in-law, but Beau has already taken him home. Margaret takes a cab home where Nagle waits for her. Nagle calls Alek with the news that Donnelly will be released and that he still wants the full $50,000. Alek races to Margaret's home just as Nagle and Margaret meet.
Nagle forces Margaret to the boat house where they argue. Nagle is convinced she is lying about not being able to raise the money. Nagle begins beating Margaret when Alek arrives. The two men scuffle, and after Nagle injures Alek's arm with a hook, Alek strangles Nagle to death. Margaret attempts to take responsibility for Nagle's death, but Alek takes the body away in Nagle's car. Margaret attempts to follow in Alek's car but cannot drive a stick shift and gets Beau to help her.
As they drive looking for Nagle's car, Margaret sees the car overturned in a ditch. She attempts to free Alek, who is critically injured. Alek pleads with her to leave before the police arrive. Margaret stays until Alek dies. Back at home, Margaret, in a state of distress, is comforted by Beau. The camera then pulls back, as the scene shifts to the exterior of the house, and the audience hears another phone call coming in from the absent husband, which Beau's sister answers. The Halls' normal life resumes.