“People are strange, and grown-ups are complex.”

Vic

The opening half hour of Deep Water depicts a failing marriage, wonderfully acted by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas in a way which communicates poignantly that Melinda’s infidelity hurts Vic less than her carelessness in conducting affairs. Unfortunately this is followed by 90 minutes of turgid plot-driven and coincidence-laden mildly erotic thriller after Vic is accused of murder. The characters react in wholly unrealistic ways that the audience is expected to accept with throwaway lines in a script that rarely scratches beneath the surface — overt acknowledgments that Vic is “weird” are woefully insufficient. Deep Water may have been intended to explore the complexities of human desire and relationships but the result feels more like a lurid revenge fantasy, made all the more disappointing by its engaging opening act. Whilst it may mark Adrian Lyne’s return to directing after 20 years, Deep Water does little to suggest we have missed much in the interim.

4/10