The Deep End Of The Ocean - Movie Review

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I had expected the worst. I do not know what "The Deep End of the Ocean" is supposed to mean, but I figured it carried some deeply symbolic motif-laden mumbo-jumbo that novelists tend to include in their works, or else it was robbed from a dumb line of dialogue inserted merely to give a movie its name.

The title is evidently the former, though the movie is hardly the overwrought mess that I'd expected to see (for example: Message in a Bottle). Instead, The Deep End of the Ocean is a surprisingly thoughtful and laconic character study, full of nuance and genuine emotion, largely driven by Pfeiffer's unraveling character Beth. The well-known plot involves the sudden disappearance of Beth's 2 year-old son Ben, who vanishes while she is visiting Chicago. Nine agonizing years later, a kid who can only be Ben shows up -- as Sam, a neighbor's boy who wants to mow the lawn. Sure enough, it's him, but he doesn't remember his family,

The legal and emotional pain that ensues could have gone into schlocky sentiment but it doesn't. The kids and Pfeiffer each carries the film on a shoulder, and it's genuinely intriguing to see how things are going to pan out. To be sure, there's no surprise by the time you get the end of the picture, but I have to say, I'm calling my mom right now.

Facts and Figures

Year: 1999

Run time: 106 mins

In Theaters: Friday 12th March 1999

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Production compaines: Columbia Pictures Corporation

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Fresh: 15 Rotten: 19

IMDB: 6.3 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Ulu Grosbard

Producer: Kate Guinzberg, Steve Nicolaides

Screenwriter: Stephen Schiff

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer as Beth Cappadora, Treat Williams as Pat Cappadora, Whoopi Goldberg as Candy Bliss, Jonathan Jackson as Vincent Cappadora - Age 16, Cory Buck as Vincent Cappadora - Age 7, Ryan Merriman as Sam Karras / Ben Cappadora - Age 12, Alexa PenaVega as Kerry Cappadora, Michael McGrady as Jimmy Daugherty, Brenda Strong as Ellen, Michael McElroy as Ben Cappadora - Age 3, Tony Musante as Grandpa Angelo, Rose Gregorio as Grandma Rosie, John Kapelos as George Karras, Lucinda Jenney as Laurie, John Roselius as Chief Bastokovich

Also starring: Kate Guinzberg, Steve Nicolaides, Stephen Schiff