THE DEEP END



USA, 2001, 99 min, color

Margaret Hall goes to her son Beau's gay 'friend', Darby Reese, and offers him money to leave her boy alone. Darby takes it, but goes to the family's home for a secret midnight tryst with Beau. An argument between them ensues and Beau bolts, seconds before Darby trips and falls through some railings. The next morning, Margaret finds Darby's dead body with the sharp end of an anchor through his chest, and, assuming her son's involvement, does what any mother would do; disposes of the body. Unfortunately, blackmailer Alek Spera thinks he might know what happened too…

"In their second feature the directors succeed in the highly challenging task of making a 40's book contemporary. Siegel and McGehee cleverly and effectively analyze the block in communication between the generations. What really raises The Deep End way beyond the limitations of its genre, though, apart from the wonderfully luminous cinematography courtesy of Giles Nuttgens, is the astonishing central performance from Tilda Swinton."