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The Deep End (2001)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 115
Fresh: 94 | Rotten: 21

A well-acted film noir with arresting visuals.

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 3

A well-acted film noir with arresting visuals.

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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 5,230

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Movie Info

A mother is drawn into a sinister web of blackmail while trying to protect her son in this drama. Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton) is a wife and mother of three living in Lake Tahoe, whose husband is a Naval officer stationed in the Atlantic ocean. Margaret's oldest son, teenaged Beau (Jonathan Tucker), is gay and has become involved with Darby (Josh Lucas), a disreputable older man whom Margaret does not trust. Margaret confronts Darby and tells him to stay away from her son, but Darby isn't

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Directed By: Scott McGehee , David Siegel

Written By: Scott McGehee, David Siegel

In Theaters: Aug 15, 2001 Limited

On DVD: Apr 16, 2002

Box Office:$8.3M

20th Century Fox

The Deep End Trailer & Photos

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Deep End

All Critics (130) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (22) | DVD (17)

For the most part ... the filmmakers and performers invest a high level of intelligence and sympathy into The Deep End.

June 18, 2002 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

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Mark Caro

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

The Deep End is the year's best movie since Memento.

August 29, 2001 Full Review Source: Denver Post

| Comment

Steven Rosen

Denver Post

Top Critic

The Deep End does what too few films even attempt -- it takes an ordinary life and places it in an extraordinary situation just believable enough to be terrifying.

August 27, 2001 Full Review Source: Detroit News

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Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

The film ultimately fails, either because the premise is too absurd, or the execution isn't absurd enough.

August 27, 2001 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle

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Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

Takes the quiet, nonviolent approach to conjuring up thrills.

August 24, 2001 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

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Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

Swinton mesmerizes as the desperate mother of three under siege.

August 23, 2001 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

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Jane Sumner

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

Woman-in-jeopardy thriller with a double twist.

January 13, 2011 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au

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Don Groves

sbs.com.au

Margaret doesn't throw punches, just rolls with them. Some of her actions can't be objectively condoned. But through a maternal prism, Tilda Swinton makes sure they're understood, with skill sly enough to register strongly in the most ordinary of roles.

September 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com

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Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

Finely crafted but more than a little overrated.

July 30, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

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Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

As the protective mother, the brilliant Tilda Swinton elevates this well-directed neo-noir way above its status as a loose remake of the 1949 Max Ophuls's Reckless Moment.

June 18, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Its overall attempts at re-igniting the unsettling ambience of old-fashioned film noir are let down by a potholed plot and poor characterisation.

February 13, 2003 Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

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Tom Grealis

RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Having two directors at the helm doesn't help

January 29, 2003 Comment

Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

A film that is diverting but not memorable.

December 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Threat

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Ron Wells

Film Threat

Swinton ... is for once deglamorized into an ordinary woman enlarged by extraordinary circumstances, and the role animates her wonderfully.

November 18, 2002 Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly

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Ella Taylor

L.A. Weekly

A stunning and stylish update of The Reckless Moment (1949), the sophomore effort from Siegel and McGehee is a taut psychological drama that lingers long after its credits roll.

November 18, 2002 Comment

Rachel Deahl

Baltimore City Paper

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Audience Reviews for The Deep End

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Tack up another winner for Tilda Swinton! She is an actress that never ceases to astound me. She is such a dominating force onscreen, but she never over acts or overdoes it. The story is really anything new, but amazingly enough its actually pretty confincing. The whole end with Goran Visnjic's character was a bit

December 10, 2009

Jake ....

Super Reviewer

Beautifully shot film. A fairly predictable story, made interesting by a great cast and solid performances. In an attempt to save her son from an "unsavory" relationship, Margaret (Swinton) unknowingly sets in motion a chain of events that slowly puts her entire family at risk. And perhaps more interestingly puts her

June 8, 2009