Deep Water: Went too deep, Couldn't find the correct way out

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas starrer Deep Water is one show that I was eager to watch. Two (in my eyes) respected actors and, what seemed to be a great storyline (from the trailer). I went in with an open mind, not sure how the synergy of Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas plays out on screen. Turns out, perfect for the story. But is it the best story I've ever seen? Not really. And that's where the disappointment sets in.

Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers. I am going to talk about the story, and there are going to be tonnes of spoilers. So if you haven't watched the movie yet, I recommend closing the browser right now.

Deep Water is a movie based in beautiful New Orleans, the starting scene shows Ben Affleck riding his bike back home. As you marvel at his features and the amazing background scenery, he reaches home and you have to take in another scene. Ana de Armas in all her glory waiting for him, as he parks his bicycle.

Oh there's a weird obsession with snails. The whole purpose of the snails, well, is to hide a Wallet?

The story revolves entirely around this couple. Vic Van Allen (Affleck) made a fortune having prepared a computer chip for drones. The moral dilemma around the usage of these drones (killing) does not bother him as much. His wife, Melinda, though, is another story. Right from the beginning, you wonder and try to guess the chemistry between the two actors, both on-screen and off-screen.

Directed by Adrian Lyne, of Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal and Unfaithful fame, this movie was his comeback into Hollywood. It was a 20-year-gap, and Deep Water, made entirely for theaters got stuck due to the pandemic.

It is interesting to note how the on-screen couple also became a real-life couple during the shooting of the movie. In many ways, the disjointed on-screen persona might take after their disjointed (they have since broken up) real-life relationship.

Open flirting with her boy-toy, and then going to her husband to see if he's turned on. That pretty much sums up the story.

I liked the direction, I loved it. I loved Vic's role, the quintessential Silicon Valley millionaire (although his money most likely came from the Pentagon) and his beloved wife. What bothers me in the movie is Melinda's role. Right from the start, she's portrayed as this wife who constantly, purposely, finds new boyfriends outside of their marriage. It's a taunt, she taunts her husband to show emotions, to do something to her. And to be fair, Vic does. There's anger, there's jealousy, there's a scene of zealous passion, there's a lot of emotions. There's also a scene where she cucks him, touching him after publicly appearing with her new flame of the month. And by the looks of it, Vic enjoys himself. This brings me to the question, what was the motive behind

1. Not divorcing her

2. Not killing her (although this might be attributed to mad-love)

3. Killing her lovers, if he enjoyed being cucked so much.

And that's a question that remains unanswered till the very end. That question was one of the driving forces of the mid-movie. And it got us from the beginning to the end, where we firmly established Vic as the revengeful husband. But the question 'Why' still remains unanswered. And that, I feel, is the biggest drawback of the movie. I think the movie tries to do too much.

It tries to show Vic as this emotionless character (wonderfully portrayed by Ben Affleck). But as the story progresses, it brings out all these different types of emotions in Vic, cause hey, without emotions, the story does not progress.

I would rate the acting of the lead characters (Vic and Melinda) an excellent 8/10. They portrayed the role very well, although the story, and possibly it is the direction left me utterly confused.

Adrian Lyne might have the experience directing past superhits, but to me, it feels he missed the boat with this movie. There's potential, but in creating the movie, he might have missed out on some important parts.

So is it Bad?

It survives. There's more to it below the water, but it's OK.

The Internet's collective review seems to be "Deep Water is bad". People are creating memes about the plot. And that's understandable. As I have said in this review, the plot is finding itself. But then it's not all bad. The plot raises more questions than it answers, but the overall gist of the movie is OK.

I still want to know why she disrespects her husband like that, blatantly. Why not just do it behind him and then he comes to know and instead of confronting his wife, he kills her lovers. Hell, that just sounds to be much better plot than the existing one.

It's worth a one-time watch. I would actually recommend it. Ben Affleck's emotions through the movie might be stagnant even, but that fills the character's demands perfectly.