Scott McGehee and David Siegel co-directed this original drama starring England’s Tilda Swinton as a housewife in California who undergoes some major life changes in the matter of a few days. Swinton plays American Margaret Hall, a mother of three who lives in a fabulous house on Lake Tahoe. Her husband is in the Navy, so he is never there. It is clear Margaret has reared the children single-handedly, although there is no apparent resentment towards her absentee husband.
This film is difficult to define, because it’s themes encompass so much, which is remarkable considering how few words are actually uttered. That the directors are able to convey so many threads of tension between the characters simply through expressions is a wonder, and if you miss any of the hints, you may get frustrated by the whole film and find it ridiculous. Indeed, this film treads a fine line between plausibility and absurdity, but if you really pay attention to the motivation behind the characters’ actions, the film is a real treat.
Margaret finds out early on that her eighteen-year-old son, Beau, is gay and has been dating a reckless older man, Darby. Realizing the older man is a bad influence on Beau, she goes to him to ask him to leave her son alone. Darby is a sleaze who wants money to leave Beau alone. Beau, in his young innocence, thinks what he and Darby have is special. When he finds out what happened between Darby and his mother, he is understandably hurt. Darby comes by the house late at night, assuming Beau would brush off what his mother told him about Darby. Beau breaks it off with Darby in a violent episode in his parents’ boathouse. The next morning, Margaret discovers Darby’s body, dead on the beach.
Margaret is a protective mother and she goes to great extremes to cover up Darby’s death so that her son will not be suspected. Why does she go to such extremes, you may ask, and why doesn’t she discuss finding Darby with Beau? The movie never comes out and says, but through multiple viewings I suspect she goes to such extremes to protect her son because he is a young, talented musician with a great future in front of him, including an acceptance to Wesleyan, a respected Christian college. Also, her husband is a military man and is most likely not going to be receptive to finding out his son is a homosexual. These are complicated issues and Beau has never officially come out to his mother. The other question is why doesn’t Margaret broach the subject of Darby’s death with her son, since she suspects Beau murdered him? Again, Beau never came out to his mother and I imagine he is still quite uncomfortable with his newfound sexuality and isn’t ready to be judged by her. He must know his father will be disappointed, perhaps even angry, so it’s understandable why he doesn’t want to create waves. Whenever Margaret does try to bring up Darby, Beau gets uncomfortable and changes the subject. Many people find this implausible, but considering the circumstances of the deep prejudices involved in homosexuality, Beau’s behavior is probably quite typical.
The movie takes on an even darker twist when two thugs who believe they have evidence that would link Beau to the murder scene, suddenly blackmail Margaret. Margaret is an upstanding, ethical woman and to be blackmailed is foreign to her. She is alone in this, since she can’t confide in her children or her husband (to tell him would mean telling him about Beau’s sexuality, which she respects). Her strength, given the strenuous situation, is remarkable and when she surprisingly opens up to one of the thugs, Alec (well-played by “ER” regular Goran Visnjic), she is stunned that he actually responds to her on a human level. This is what I love about this movie: normally, thugs and blackmailers are flat, one-sided characters whose sole purpose is to be Evil. The Deep End creates a blackmailer who is fleshed out, who empathizes with the situation he has put Margaret in, and who eventually becomes the only person she has for support. It’s a fascinating relationship, and a dangerous one, but again, without a lot of dialogue, the audience understands why Margaret grows close to the man who has threatened her family.
The film’s title refers to a gay bar, but it also conveys a deeper meaning: Margaret is in above her head, covering up a murder and being subjected to blackmail, while at the same time raising three kids and trying to pretend everything is fine in front of them. The directors use a lot of water imagery throughout the film to create tension and to show the audience just how deep Margaret is involved in secrets and lies. Her family is aloof; they don’t share their personal feelings with each other, which also explains Beau’s reluctance to come out of the closet. A simple open conversation would have averted everything, but because they are so uncomfortable having revealing conversations, everyone just assumes things about others, incorrectly most times, while concurrently digging himself or herself deeper into the web. It’s a movie of misunderstandings and miscommunications. I really enjoyed this film, particularly the final scenes between Margaret and Alec, when a whole new level in their relationship is heartbreakingly revealed.