The Deep Blue Sea (2012)

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  April 11, 2012

  SirPant

  Terence Davies's version of The Deep Blue Sea is dreamy, blurred and woozy. It's almost like a theatrical daydream. I didn't dig it at first if I'm being honest but it really is a slow-burner and one I ended up loving. The story is tragic, melancholy and depressing - my kind of f... read moreilm but it does also have a lighter and beautiful side. The script is perfect. Some of the lines are are absolute gold "Love is wiping someone else's arse.." etc. The actors at first seemed unsuitable but towards the end I realised why they were cast, there was something unspecific about their performances that worked. What the hell am I going on about right? It's a strange one, hard to explain really but I would recommend.

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  December 31, 2011

  mumby1988

  One of the hardest things to rationalise as a film reviewer is when a director you love suddenly gets it wrong. Reviewing the latest Michael Bay disaster, or Brett Ratner-driven slice of hackery, is pretty easy: simply string together four or five superlatives, add some moral out... read morerage and leave it to stew in its own juices. What's not so easy is trying to explain how Terence Davies has gone from something as inspired as Of Time and the City to such an abject failure in The Deep Blue Sea.
  
  Davies' output as a filmmaker has always been an acquired taste - which, in this context, is equally a loaded phrase and a straight-up compliment. Whether you like his back catalogue or not (and even he has mixed feelings), he has a distinctive voice and series of interests which set him apart from the mainstream. He has campaigned tirelessly for the promotion of British cinema, furiously refusing to accept the perceived dominance of Hollywood, both financially and artistically.
  
  You couldn't put the failure of Davies' latest film down to him being out of his depth. He has dabbled in period drama before, most prominently in The House of Mirth 11 years ago. But more than that, he has an intrinsic understanding of 1950s Britain, retaining both a childlike fondness of its cinema and a very real understanding of its social problems, which he experienced as a child. Davies has frequently described his father as "psychotic", and in Of Time and the City he painfully records both the realisation of his homosexuality and his disillusionment with religion.
  
  One thing that The Deep Blue Sea has clearly in its favour is the way it looks. Florian Hoffmeister's cinematography is lush, glossy and full of rich colours, which somewhat evokes the work of the late great Jack Cardiff. The period details are immaculate, whether it's the costumes the characters wear or the songs they sing in the pub. It's not, or at least it doesn't appear to be, a pretend version of 1950s Britain, either dreamt up by the tourist board or dropped in from Hollywood.
  
  Equally compelling is Davies' choice of music. His films have been described as having a "symphonic" quality, which goes back not just to 1950s melodrama but to the silent films which ultimately inspired them. In this case Davies turns to Samuel Barber, peppering many of Rachel Weisz's scenes with those long, elegiac strokes of the bow for which Barber was rightly famed. You won't find the now-clichéd Adagio for Strings sneaking in under the radar, but what there is works resoundingly well.
  
  But for all its lavish grandiosity, the big failing of The Deep Blue Sea is something so ironically simple: we just don't care about any of the people on screen. Whether because of the source material, the performances or Davies' approach to either, this is a damning indictment of Davies as a filmmaker. What has united all of his work in the past is an intrinsic connection to the characters - we can empathise with and understand them even in the most fantastical situations. This is the first film which Davies has made in which we have no connection to the characters at all, unless 'connection' can include emotions like contempt, anger and disdain.
  
  Part of the problem lies in the casting of Rachel Weisz. Davies said that she was the only person who could play Hester Collyer, and looking at her you can understand why. Weisz does have a kind of classical beauty which recalls Deborah Kerr, and she wears period costume very well. But while she may look the part, she fails completely on a dramatic level, leaving us annoyed by every word and action of hers on screen.
  
  When Weisz was performing in A Streetcar Named Desire, she gave an interview bemoaning the lack of dramatic filmmaking in Hollywood. She pointed to the paucity of adventurous drama in a time of obsession with genre, and in particular to a dearth of decent female leads. It's hard to argue against that, but someone urgently needs to tell her that 'drama' and 'moaning for two hours' are not the same thing. Hester does nothing but cry, moan, scream, smoke and stare mournfully into middle distance. Weisz is worse here than she is in The Lovely Bones, so much so that at times you wish her character would just get on with it and top herself.
  
  The male characters in the film fare no better. Simon Russell Beale is a very talented Shakespearean actor, and as with Weisz he looks the part as the elderly judge firmly in his mother's pocket. But he very quickly drifts into a stiff-upper-lip stereotype, as the film makes no effort to challenge our expectations of his occupation or social standing. Tom Hiddleston gets an equally duff hand, starting and ending as a caricature, namely the pilot who can't get over the war and return to a normal life.
  
  It would be tempting in light of this to put Davies in the same camp as Noah Baumbach. He is guilty of the same cardinal sin of The Squid and the Whale: giving us a film without any empathetic characters, let alone an interesting story. The difference is that Baumbach seems to have genuine contempt for his audience, branding them as philistines if they don't understand why it is engaging to watch over-privileged pseudo-intellectuals whinging about their massive houses and expensive educations. Davies shows no such contempt: he has just mis-steped in such a dramatic way that this would appear to be the case.
  
  One could argue that the failure of The Deep Blue Sea is a failure of the source material rather than its cinematic execution. Terence Rattigan's later work, written after the Second World War, is by and large dated and uninteresting. Early-1950s theatre was an empty and nostalgic celebration of pre-war life, with plays which seemed to lack any bearing on or interest in reality. The Deep Blue Sea is no exception, and its celebration of the British stiff-upper-lip feels horribly stale in 2011.
  
  While all of this is true, however, the responsibility of making a film work ultimately lies with its director. There have been many filmmakers which have taken average scripts and acquitted themselves perfectly well: either of John Hillcoat's films are reasonable examples. But Davies makes the fatal error of assuming that we should care or be interested, rather than giving us any reason to of its own accord. He plays everything so straight that there is no way in for a modern audience, for whom the wartime attitudes seem at best admirably outdated and at worst totally absurd.
  
  The big dramatic problem with The Deep Blue Sea lies in Hester's frustration or repression - something Weisz would know all about from A Streetcar Named Desire. If you're going to show repression, there has to be a pay-off or some form of character development to make all this pressure worthwhile, whether it's a happy ending or a lonely suicide. But this moment never arrives; the central relationship is tedious, unbelievable, and goes absolutely nowhere.
  
  The Deep Blue Sea reminds us of two great periods of British filmmaking. Firstly, it recalls the great work of Powell and Pressburger in the 1940s and early-1950s, as they grabbed the conventions of melodrama by the scruff of the neck and produced works of profundity, nuance and visual splendour. And secondly, it reminds us just how important the British New Wave was in eroding these conventions, removing the veils of ignorance, escapism and denial which blighted so much of 1950s cinema.
  
  The Deep Blue Sea is caught between the devil and its title, lacking the brilliance of the former and the relevance of the latter. You sit there amongst the tedious story and annoying characters, yearning for Malcolm McDowell to burst in brandishing a machine gun and inform the characters that the world they knew and fought for is long gone. Only time will tell how damaging this will prove to Davies' craft as a filmmaker. It is at very best an admirable failure, being a beautifully shot folly for an audience that no longer exists.

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  March 25, 2012

  gator681

  "The Deep Blue Sea" starts with the ticking of a clock in 1950 London, followed by Hester(Rachel Weisz) writing a letter to her lover Freddie(Tom Hiddleston) telling him that she is very serious about committing suicide this time. Her troubles can be traced to the beginnings of ... read moretheir surreptitious affair. At least it was until she and her husband, Sir William Collyer(Simon Russell Beale), visited his mother(Barbara Jefford), where she makes an indiscrete phone call. In response, he says that he will not grant her a divorce and make her life as hard as possible.
  
  At first, I thought I had mistakenly wandered into a Terrence Malick movie by mistake(my worst nightmare, right now) with the florid use of classical music, minimal dialogue and a non-stop movement through time. With a slap that brings Hester back into the waking world, it also brings the viewer out of his daze. Thankfully, writer-director Terence Davies was only interested in using this technique for a dreamlike recreation of Hester's memories. Otherwise, he seemed to not only want to make a movie about post war England where open secrets exist behind closed doors, but also a movie that, except for the sexual frankness, feels like it could have been made then, too, hermetically sealing it against the present. As symbolized by the stunning final image and the exquisite period detail, the characters are not able to escape the war, which despite the horrors, was when they were the most alive, with the class lines blurring which complicates things immensely when things return to normal. Even then, it seems Hester has more in common with her older husband than her younger lover. Sadly, the nonsequential story structure prevents more character depth(the movie's action is I think set over a period of two days), and conceals a better movie waiting to get out.

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  April 29, 2012

  fb1025970122

  I was unfamiliar with the story I was walking into upon seeing "The Deep Blue Sea" and was not well acquainted with any of writer/director Terrence Davies previous work. I had of course heard others discuss his films and was anxious to see if what I had heard would turn out to be... read more true. What is actually delivered in his latest film is by all means a very simple tale. It is nothing more than a tragic love story set in the ruins of World War II. As awful as it may sound I am always entertained, or more accurately engaged by tragic love stories. The dynamic of a failed relationship is always interesting. That is why there are so many songs about them, that is why the story never grows old. I found the adaptation of the 1952 Terence Rattigan play to be emotionally enduring and a very introspective look at how the human heart deals with past memories and lost feelings it will never likely be reunited with again. Still, for such a melodramatic premise, it also ends up being rather boring. Davies does in fact prove to be a very straight forward director who documents this story with a stylistically square eye. Everything we see feels flawless, painted almost and yet at the center of our story is an extremely fractured individual that slowly becomes more self-destructive due to the heartbreaking circumstances she is forced to confront yet are of her own creation. This is a distinctly British film, but after seeing "Pirates! Band of Misfits" earlier this week I found it even more interesting to see how big the crevice really is between the work in American cinema and how it compares. Clearly this is a much heavier film than the animated export that is opening wide this weekend, but it may not be the better film because of it.
  
  I realize this has little to do with an animated movie about Pirates, but it is inevitable for me as a movie-goer to not relate the two as they come from filmmakers with similar cultures. There is really no way to compare the two, but why I even mention the observation is due to the fact that the kind of people we watch here carry that same noble persona, that uniquely formal reserve for one another. The is demonstrated in the story by Freddie Page, a pilot in the Royal Air Force who is having trouble adjusting to life after the war. As played by Tom Hiddleston (Thor) Freddie is a fickle, thrill-seeking playboy who gives into Hester's longing for more than skin deep love if only to succeed in gaining lust and sin from the married woman. Hester, a romanticizing and smouldering Rachel Weisz, is looking for more than this though. She longs for true passion and true love. As the younger wife to high court judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale) she sits pretty in his wealthy arms, she is comfortable, but needs more in her life to fill those ideals of romantic escapades, to help her realize those passions. This leads her to the affair with Freddie who after learning of an attempted suicide by Hester seems to see it as a way out and quickly exits before getting caught up in actually having to return the love Hester feels for him and provide stability in her life. The film plays out in this single day where Hester has attempted to kill herself and plays out through short flashbacks to flesh out the complete story of the affair and how she has arrived in her current state.
  
  Davies handles these flashbacks with ease as he navigates them with the help of a strong classical score. Much of the film in fact plays out as if it could be a silent picture. Of course, this would take away some of the scenes in which we see Weisz, as a performer, exceed. The images are just so elegant though that the sweeping orchestral sounds take the imagery to a completely different level where the slow pace becomes more of a point than a flaw. No doubt it is intentional, but that we don't really dig into the meat of the story until the half hour point makes for a rather uninspired introduction. The main conflict I have with the movie though was that we, as an audience, are confused as to whether we should like or be afraid of Weisz's Hester. True, she is a damaged soul, but as she is clearly a danger to herself Davies should have taken more time to flesh her out as a human being. There is a development in the character that is missing. We never really learn how she came to marry the older man in the first place, why she might be drawn to such lustful desires, or if she has ever been happy. Does she even know what it truly feels like to fall in love? At one point Freddie speaks a line of dialogue that goes went something to the effect of marrying the first man that asked and falling in love with the first to smile at her. We see the pain and confusion there, but we want to be given a deeper look into its roots. This is a familiar story and because Davies has stripped it down to its core characters it feels more like a filmed version of the stage play in parts than it does a feature film. This was my biggest detraction for myself to emotionally connect with the film, which is a shame because there is serious complexities going on under Weisz's soft-focused eyes.
  
  "The Deep Blue Sea" is clearly not a film for everyone. It is in many ways a throw back to movies of old. There is a lost soul feeling to the film that overcasts the gloomy British setting and tragic story. I almost came to understand what life must have felt like post-WWII. There is a sense of hopelessness hanging over everything. This could be the reason a restricted romantic like Hester becomes so restless in her unaffectionate marriage, but it also serves the film in its quest to make you really feel the heartache. "The Deep Blue Sea" is a very careful film, one that seems planned to a T with its steady cam shots set to classical music and the very quick witted dialogue exchanged in rapid fire while the words contain the intelligence of thoughts that would usually have to be boiled over. It is that kind of film and if that isn't your cup of tea, then you will honestly probably hate the film. I din't love it, but I think I understood it. I certainly understood Weisz's performance and while I yearned to know more about Hester I was also thankful such a talented actress had taken the role. A lesser one would not have been able to convey nearly as much history in the unspoken moments as Weisz does here. We know what she wants, what she longs for when the camera studies her face as she looks at Freddie. Even when her character becomes somewhat of a wallower, feeling sorry for herself because of her current lifestyle we sympathize with her. That is the strongest aspect the film has going for it and while plenty of other things compliment the performance, that alone is what will resonate with you hours after the credits roll.

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  November 26, 2011

  danieljparsons

  Amazing. Review soon.

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  May 18, 2012

  fb1112584705

  Stellar performances. It was fun to watch Loki open up and unfurl with a sentimental, dashing lead type character. But Rachel continues showing and proving why she's one of the best leading ladies today. Spectacular.

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  March 28, 2012

  ThomasJayWilliams

  Esquire got it right with calling The Deep Blue Sea a "Swoon of a Film". It is a dizzying swoon about the romantic folly of uppercrust Brit, Hester Collyer, in 1950's London beautifully and heartbreakingly played out by Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, My Blueberry Nights, T... read morehe Fountain) who feels trapped in a rather loveless marriage to the much older magistrate Sir William (Simon Russell Beale - My Week With Marilyn, Orlando) while she becomes enthralled with a passion for the younger Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Freddy (Tom Hiddleston - War Horse, Thor, The Avengers). Hester is warned that "passion leads to ugly things" but there is nothing ugly onscreen here -- with muted, rich colors, fine actors and a stringed orchestral score of foreboding moods and longing love -- The Deep Blue Sea is a nicely structured film from seasoned director Terence Davies (The House of Mirth, Of Time and the City). There are some wonderfully -- and I hate the overuse of this word (and I am still using it) -- epic scenes of romance on display in the film such as a pub scene turning into a heartwrenchingly gorgeous shot of two lovers dancing and being totally in love with the moment (as was I -- tears streamed). The film is quite artful and won't be for everyone ... just as Hester is also criticized for being "cultural" I think that could describe this film. Her character didn't see the word as slight and nor do I ... but I am sure it could give off the feel of being pretentious as our actors have an ability to over-emote/act at times ... although this is told from the mind/memory of a suicidally (not a spoiler) desperate lover (which means the over-acting is her viewpoint and therefore acceptable). If the Oscars were held today -- Weisz would walk away with her second Oscar; but I doubt she's remembered come Oscar time even IF she is that good. We don't often see films like this one ... and I found it to be a rare treasure. (this is not to be mistaken for the 1999 similarly named film featuring sharks!)

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• Rachel Weisz as Hester Collyer
• Tom Hiddleston as Freddie Page
• Simon Russell Beale as Sir William Collyer
• Anne Mitchell as Mrs. Elton
• Ann Mitchell as Mrs. Elton
• Jolyon Coy as Philip Welch
• Karl Johnson as Mr. Miller
• Harry Hadden-Paton as Jackie Jackson
• Sarah Kants as Liz Jackson

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