Deep Water

Classic French art-house mystery thriller for the wine n cheese crowd. Young trophy bride (Huppert) flirts and attracts numerous young swains. Husband warns each of possible consequences. Those who heed, flee. Those who abide, however ... Challenging in that the viewer never knows the relationship between husband and wife, or how much friends and neighbors (island of Jersey) turn a blind eye to Measured pace (for modern viewers, read slow) that delivers unexpected jolts. Warning, there is violence in this film, and it bursts seemingly out of nowhere. Jean-Louis Trintignant unforgettable as the multi-layered husband. Based on Patricia Highsmith (Ripley stories) novel.

Deville was the perfect director for such light gallantries such as "Benjamin"(1968).And what about Highsmith? Patricia Highsmith 's books are deceptive:it is hard to adapt them badly for the screen while being harder still to adapt them well.To my eyes ,one director has succeeded :Alfred Hitchcock ("Strangers on a train" ),three have partially succeeded (René Clément "Monsieur Ripley" (the talented M.Ripley) Anthony Minghella (its remake) and Wim Wenders 's "Der Amerikanische Freund " (Ripley's game) .Claude Chabrol was not so successful with "cry of the owl".Claude Miller butchered the brilliant "that sweet sickness" (="Dites lui que je l'aime") "Eaux profondes" is intense psychological drama.The story of a man who is jealous and kills all his wife's lovers.He warns them before .Trintignant,a good choice,tells them so: "I kill them" in a smooth voice .He treats his wife like a big doll,the scene is the bathroom is telling.

There was in Highsmith's book an atmosphere ,a terrible progression which led to madness:the film has a tendency to simplify too much and its main drawback is to be too short.

When she was interviewed when the movie was released,Highsmith told the journalists she had appreciated the movie.Make up your own mind about it.

I think one can say without fear of contradiction that Patricia Highsmith was a deeply complex individual with more than her fair share of demons. Her spectacles were never rose-coloured and her gripping tales featuring deeply flawed, morally vacuous, sociopathic characters have proved to be manna from heaven for film directors notably Hitchcock, Clement and Chabrol.

This adaptation of her fifth novel 'Deep Water' is directed by Michel Deville.

This film slowly drew me in and held my attention although M. Deville's rather tasteful and measured directorial style would seem to lack the 'edge' required for this sort of material. Where it does have the advantage is in the casting of Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert as Vic and Melanie. He is the outwardly complaisant husband and she is the notoriously flirtatious wife who rubs his nose in it. He resolves to kill one of her paramours but of course one murder is never enough.........

Trintignant, with his unruffled exterior concealing the turmoil within and Huppert with her combination of vulnerability and almost cruel impassivity, are tremendous and their dynamic is mesmerising. The supporting players alas are not up to much but mention must be made of splendid Sandrine Kljajic as their young daughter whose childlike innocence gives the film a balance. The relationship between father and daughter is beautifully drawn. In one scene his bedtime story is that of Samson and Delilah!

Deville utilises his favoured editor Raymonde Guyot and Manuel de Falla's Concerto pour Clavicin is cleverly employed.

The subtle ending with its family reconciliation is filmically effective but the author's original ending would have packed a far greater punch.

Deville must have felt deflated by the films failure to make an impact but he hit the bullseye four years later with his critically and commercially successful 'Péril en la Demeure'. Still tasteful but this time with an edge!

EAUX PROFONDES, or Deep Water, is a French film based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. I haven't read that book but I've read some of her other novels and I can safely say that this film is the best version of a Patricia Highsmith novel ever. It perfectly captures her tone and style, unlike the recent crappy version of TALENTED MR RIPLEY. Highsmith herself said she loved this movie.

The story is about this "odd" couple. The wife, played by the beautiful Isabelle Hupert, attracts men and brings them to her house, even in front of her husband, played by the not so beautiful Jean-Louis Trintignant. Those men eventually end up dead.

What's going with those two? Is Huppert taunting Trintignant's psychotic character? Is Huppert bringing those men for her husband to have "fun" with? Is Huppert the real psycho in this couple, knowing her husband will kill her lovers and she recklessly brings the clueless men to her house? The two are playing a deadly game with each other and men end up dead. The whole thing is never clear and that's why this film is so cool. The aura of mystery is near perfect. Because there's an aura of mystery with these two, the film becomes a pretty sharp and brilliant statement on couples in general.

It's sorta like Paul Verhoeven's THE FOURTH MAN, made 3 years after this, but without the usual violence and crudeness fond in Verhoeven's films.

EAUX PROFONDES is unlike any film I've seen. It's moody and atmospheric. The music is brilliant (arranged by Charles Dutoit) and the cinematography is beautiful. There's not much more to say. The film is as simple, or not as simple, as it sounds but personally speaking, Huppert and Trintignant make an unforgettable couple. I haven't seen it in a while and I wish they'd release it on DVD.

For fans of dark, brooding, sexy films with a "twist" look no further than EAUX PROFONDES.

"Eaux Profondes" is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, but to the book-illiterate it may look more like an unofficial remake of Claude Chabrol's "La Femme Infidele" (although the book came out in 1957 and Chabrol's film in 1969, making you rethink who influenced whom first). It is a calm, dispassionate story about infidelity, jealousy, and murder, with some interesting transitions by director Michel Deville and two excellent leads: Jean-Louis Trintignant (he's at his best when he puts on a wolfish smile) and a young, frequently nude Isabelle Huppert. But it is also repetitive, feeling longer than it is (93 minutes), without enough psychological depth. Also the music score sometimes gets too loud and annoying. ** out of 4.