Deep Water: Snail Erotica

After watching this film I am trying to comprehend how the two leads fell in love while filming.

Adrian Lyne’s return to the screen is the adaptation of the 1957 novel Deep Water. This film has a murky history including the falling out of their two leads and being basically dumped onto Hulu. To audiences, it seemed like a return back to adult movies but sadly it doesn’t meet expectations.

Deep Water is an erotic murder mystery about a couple who has no love left in their marriage. The only thing that keeps them together is their young daughter Trixie. Vic (Ben Affleck) is retired and spends his days raising snails while Melinda (Ana de Armas) always has a glass in hand and a little black dress on while she publicly humiliates her husband. The scene is set when one of Melinda’s lovers has mysteriously disappeared and Vic jokingly admits to killing him.

While the film has interesting source material and two attractive leads, it feels choppy and slow. Affleck and Armas do a good job with little material given and are able to play selfish lovers so naturally. No thrills to be found except for Ben Affleck’s adoring relationship with snails. Scenes move at different paces that feel odd and stitched together in order to make a story. It is obvious there is a longer cut of the story. For a film advertised as erotica, there is barely sex and no stamp of Lyne’s influence. It feels like a reverse Gone Girl without the thrill.

The Fatal Attraction director knows how to bring out the darker parts of beautiful people who hid behind manicured lawns and expensive clothing. It might not be the comeback people were expecting after a 20-year break but at least a movie of this caliber can still be made today.