Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Ulu Grosbard
Written by: Stephen Schiff
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Johnathan Jackson, Ryan Merriman, John Kapelos
Produced by: Kate Guinzberg, Steve Nicolaides

The Nutshell

A woman loses her child in a crowd and 9 years later, he shows up at her door, with no memory of his family at all.

The Review

    Deep End Of The Ocean takes a well-used premise from past films and gives it a new spin. Films like The Vanishing (both versions) and Breakdown have dealt with the question "What do you do when someone you love just disappears from under your nose?" In The Vanishing, the culprit is a deranged family man who abducts a man's girlfriend at a gas station, just to see if he can. In Breakdown, the culprits are truck drivers out for ransom money. In both films, the culprits are known to us and the story pits them against the man searching for his loved one. Writer Stephen Schiff chooses to concentrate on a family's grief and acceptance of never seeing their nine-year old son again, giving us the possibility of a riveting study of familial grief. Instead we end up with an overly sentimental film saved only by the strength of its star, Michelle Pfeiffer.

    Pfeiffer is Beth Cappadora, a successful photographer with three kids and a loving husband. During her 15 year high school reunion, her three year old Ben goes missing. A quick search turns up nothing and the police are called. The head of the police search, Candy Bliss (Goldberg), reassures Beth that the police will never give up looking. Beth's husband Pat arrives and a shock sets in. The film then moves forward nine years, to reveal a family forever changed by the disappearance. Beth and Pat have marital problems. Beth hasn't worked in months, while Pat has focused all of his energy on his new restaurant, blocking the pain of the past. The film gets going when one day, Ben shows up at Beth's door asking if she would like her lawn mowed. The catch is that Ben has no idea that Beth is his mother. He believes another man  is his father, a man who lives only several blocks down the road. The police are called and Ben is given back to the Cappadoras. The Cappadoras spend the rest of the film trying to bond with a son they don't know.

    Deep End Of The Ocean could have been a harrowing look at the depths to which a family can fall upon losing a loved one. Instead, Stephen Schiff and director Ulu Grosbard chose to play things safe, padding their film with numerous attempts to make us cry and lots of unrealistic dialogue. One scene in particular involving the whole family dancing at their new restaurant is hard to stomach. Only the performance of Michelle Pfeiffer makes Deep End Of The Ocean tolerable. Pfeiffer gives an intelligent and believable performance as Beth Cappadora. Husband Pat is given lots of supportive things to say, but Treat Williams is obviously acting throughout the film, whereas Pfeiffer truly gets into her role. Whoopi Goldberg adds a few moments of brief humour to the film but is mostly serious as Candy Bliss. The big problem with the casting is in choosing Ryan Merriman as the older Ben. Merriman's expression never changes, his face remaining in a slightly confused droop throughout. He seems half-asleep in every scene he appears in and dampens the film's energy. Had a more suitable actor been picked, Deep End might have been an emotional, powerful film. As is, Deep End will mostly only appeal to those who want a good cry. Anyone looking for thoughtful, intriguing material will have to look elsewhere.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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