The Deep End of the Ocean

Starring:Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Jackson, Cory Buck, Ryan Merriman, Alexa Vega, Michael McGrady, Brenda Strong, Michael McElroy, Tony Musante, Rose Gregorio, John Kapelos, Lucinda Jenney, John Roselius, K.K. Dodds, Joey Simmrin, Holly Towne, Olivia Summers, Susie Spear
Director: Ulu Grosbard
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

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Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer) is at her high school reunion when her 3-year-old son disappears from his brother's care. The little boy never turns up, and the family has to deal with the devastating guilt and grief that goes along with it. Nine years later, the family has relocated to Chicago. By a sheer fluke, the kid turns up, living no more than two blocks away. The authorities swoop down and return the kid to his biological parents, but things are far from being that simple. The boy grew up around what he has called his father, while his new family are strangers to him; the older son, now a teenager, has brushes with the law and behavioral problems. His adjustment to his lost brother is complicated by normal teenage churlishness, and the dad (Treat Williams) seems to expect everything to fall into place as though the family had been intact all along. It's a tightrope routine for actors in a story like this, being careful not to chew the scenery while at the same time not being too flaccid or understated. For the most part, the members of the cast deal well with the emotional complexity of their roles. Though the story stretches credulity, weirder things do happen in the real world. The family's pain for the first half of the film is certainly credible, though the second half almost seems like a different movie. Whoopi Goldberg plays the detective assigned to the case; casting her is a bit of a stretch, but she makes it work. All in all, a decent three-hanky movie in the vein of Ordinary People. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews:

So Much For My "Pfeiffer Festival".......2005-09-25

One of the fringe benefits of a major format change is the inevitable markdowns of old stock of the old format. I've been taking advantage of the VHS sales in local video stores for quite a while now. Many of them are dirt cheap, and if you still have a functional VCR and don't demand all the "extras" of the DVD format, you can find all kinds of bargains.

And all kinds of dross too, unfortunately. I purchased this movie recently, along with several other films starring Michelle Pfeiffer and was contemplating holding my own personal "Pfeiffer Film Festival," but for better or for worse, I started out with DEEP END OF THE OCEAN and that pretty much nipped those plans in the bud. I wound up shelving the other entries in the Pfeiffer filmography for another rainy day. This one was just too depressing. And I don't mean the content.

I think most people recognize that Michelle Pfeiffer is a talented actress as well as being a very beautiful woman. But like many good actresses, she seems to wind up in mediocre film after mediocre film. Maybe it was ever thus. How many truly great films did a Katharine Hepburn or a Bette Davis really do in their day. And Liz Taylor did clunker after clunker in the late 60s and early 70s. But there was a significant change in recent decades. Even our biggest stars of today don't carry films the way they once did. No one goes to see a Michelle Pfeiffer film just because Michelle Pfeiffer is in it these days. The pressure is on, then, for an actor to pick vehicles worthy of his or her talents.

A number of the reviews I've seen posted here and elsewhere have elaborated on THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN's storyline, so I won't belabor that here. Suffice to say that the story of a child's kidnapping and the subsequent emotional trauma it inflicts on an entire family is a potentially powerful one. Pfeiffer heads a strong cast, including Treat Williams as her equally grieving but more resilient husband. They all have good moments and make the most of their screentime, but the story never quite gels. And it doesn't get much better when after ten years, the family is abruptly reunited with their lost son.

The fact that the reunion is highly unlikely is not so much the problem. I'm not out to revoke anyone's dramatic license here. What makes no dramatic sense or even common sense is the family's handling of the situation. In the Age of Oprah, how come no one even considers any kind of counseling for ANYONE in the family. Many people (and many entire families, of course) are resistant to seeking psychological help, but under such extraordinary circumstances, it's hard to imagine this family not even considering the option. If not for themselves, how about for the boy? After all he's been through, even the proudest of families should feel little compunction about his receiving professional help.

Like many other reviewers who have not read Jacquelyn Michaud's acclaimed novel upon which this film is based, I am guessing that this is likely one more case in which the "book was better." A novel, of course, can indulge in more leisurely pacing, and provide more background and, most importantly, can utilize techniques like interior monologue which contemporary cinema rightly eschews. (Voiceovers don't cut it--and never did). I wonder too if the book might not have provided us with some kind of explanation for the evocative title. There seems to be a trend toward a kind of emotional topography in recent fiction and cinema (not only "deep ends of the ocean" but also "maps of the world" and of "the human heart"). Apparently, they mean something. The book may make it clear. The movie doesn't really bother.

not predictable.......2003-12-29

Very good movie. Kid is stolen, Mom goes crazy, family becomes a mess. Kid is found but its all unpredictable. Rent it and see how the story unfolds.

"Goes a step beyond drama".......2003-09-10

It is hard to describe this film, but it is one with a very stable and unfamiliar plot. You will not be unsatisfied with this film I would recomend it to anyone with a family to look after, so you can see what really does happen. It is very suspensful and probably too much for young children to handle otherwise it is a great film.

Wow.......2003-01-19

I was anxiously waiting to see this movie on television, so to bide the time, I grabbed the book to read. The movie is nothing like the book! I am a big time reader, but I found the book to be long, drawn-out and quite frankly, boring. The movie however, is fabulous. Everyone does an amazing job, but of particular note is Jonathan Jackson. This man can act! He did a superb job. This movie is definitely worth watching.

Do not watch this movie-- READ THE BOOK!.......2002-10-27

The filmakers RUINEDRUINEDRUINEDRUINED a great book by taking out the best parts and changing the real reason Ben's brother was so troubled. Please read the book instead (or at least in addition to) this movie!

Average customer rating:

The Deep End of the Ocean [Region 2]
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer , Treat Williams , Whoopi Goldberg , Jonathan Jackson , and Cory Buck
Director: Ulu Grosbard
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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