The Deep End is a mostly well acted drama-thriller with Tilda Swinton giving a great performance while Goran Visnjic, attempting to follow in the footsteps of “ER” alum George Clooney, seems out of place but gives it his best.
The Deep End
(2001)
Genre(s): Drama, Crime
Fox | R – 101 min. – $16.99 | May 6, 2014
PLOT SUMMARY
Still waters run deadly in this gripping suspense thriller about the extraordinary depths to which seemingly ordinary people will sink in the name of love. Housewife Margaret Hall (TILDA SWINTON), a fiercely protective mother caught in a vortex of deception when it appears that her son (JONATHAN TUCKER) may be guilty of murder. One desperate act leads to another, and soon she’s being blackmailed by the mysterious Alek Spera (GORAN VISNJIC).
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
All the features from the original DVD release have been ported over:
Audio Commentary – Writers/Producers/Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel sit down for an informative track talking about the origins of the story, working with the actors and providing some bits if info on the production.
The Anatomy of a Scene (24:07; SD) is a special made for the Sundance Channel and contains cast and crew interviews and goes through location scouting to find the perfect house and also breaks down a key scene.
Making-of Featurette (2:36; SD) is a short EPK feature with some basic comments to advertise the movie.
Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (2:17; HD) and a TV Spot (0:32; SD).
VIDEO – 3.5/5
The Deep End takes a dive onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a decent if not standard 1080p high-definition transfer. This video is a bit of a mixed bad where detail levels are OK but darker scenes do show some splotches at times with heavy grain rather than anything smooth or well-defined. Colors aren’t especially bright but at least in HD it shows off the beautiful locations well enough.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track included is ordinary where dialogue is clear but most of the action seemed to be directed through the center channel with the front and rears making up for ambient noises and other off-screen action. It’s not a great lossless track yet it’s mostly effective.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, The Deep End is a mostly well acted drama-thriller with Tilda Swinton giving a great performance while Goran Visnjic, attempting to follow in the footsteps of “ER” alum George Clooney, seems out of place but gives it his best. The catalog Blu-ray released by Fox has so-so audio/video transfers and an acceptable selection of features ported over from the DVD version.
Published: 05/08/2014