Eaux profondes

I think one can say without fear of contradiction that Patricia Highsmith was a deeply complex individual with more than her fair share of demons. Her spectacles were never rose-coloured and her gripping tales featuring deeply flawed, morally vacuous, sociopathic characters have proved to be manna from heaven for film directors notably Hitchcock, Clement and Chabrol.

This adaptation of her fifth novel 'Deep Water' is directed by Michel Deville.

This film slowly drew me in and held my attention although M. Deville's rather tasteful and measured directorial style would seem to lack the 'edge' required for this sort of material. Where it does have the advantage is in the casting of Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert as Vic and Melanie. He is the outwardly complaisant husband and she is the notoriously flirtatious wife who rubs his nose in it. He resolves to kill one of her paramours but of course one murder is never enough.........

Trintignant, with his unruffled exterior concealing the turmoil within and Huppert with her combination of vulnerability and almost cruel impassivity, are tremendous and their dynamic is mesmerising. The supporting players alas are not up to much but mention must be made of splendid Sandrine Kljajic as their young daughter whose childlike innocence gives the film a balance. The relationship between father and daughter is beautifully drawn. In one scene his bedtime story is that of Samson and Delilah!

Deville utilises his favoured editor Raymonde Guyot and Manuel de Falla's Concerto pour Clavicin is cleverly employed.

The subtle ending with its family reconciliation is filmically effective but the author's original ending would have packed a far greater punch.

Deville must have felt deflated by the films failure to make an impact but he hit the bullseye four years later with his critically and commercially successful 'Péril en la Demeure'. Still tasteful but this time with an edge!

Somehow this film manages to be boring and disgusting at the same time. The music is particularly awful - faux baroque/jazz - and violin scratching that is supposed to be suspenseful but is just annoying. As is typical in French movies, it starts out well, with a very interesting premise, interesting characters, good dialogue...and then nothing happens. Well, to be fair, some things do happen, but there is never a sense of direction, of the story going somewhere, or of anything being resolved. I can't blame it all on the French though. It's based on a book by Patricia Highsmith and in her signature style glorifies immorality and sexual/psychological perversity. She also wrote "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Strangers on a Train." Hitchcock was a master filmmaker, and while he kept the evil and the pscyhopathy, he also had the skill to make "Strangers" into a film that is scary and suspenseful, yet with an ending that doesn't repel.

This is like watching a cat and mouse game that you couldn't care less about. I'm sorry I wasted an hour and a half on this terrible movie.

This is the second Michel Deville's movie i watch. First one (Death in a french garden) was a great movie (8/10). This one is definitely lesser. Characters are totally unlikeable but it's not necessarily a bad thing, i mean, there are many movies in which noone is to root for but still, they are good/great movies. Unfortunately, characters were not only unlikeable but a bit bland too. Both Huppert and Trintignant are charismatic and gifted actors but they couldn't turn this into a very good movie. Still, it was enjoyable and entertaining. Trintignant was convincing enough, i understood his character and his motives even though he was not a good guy here. I was curious to see where it goes and it was not boring. However, it was not that interesting either. And the ending was even more bland than the rest of the movie.

Watch it if you like this genre. This is a drama/romance movie first of all. Cold and dry. The crime element is secondary.

I discover again this Michel Deville's film, my favorite, showing a scheme rarely used before, except maybe in some anthology shows such as ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS or any other series of this kind and period. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert steal the show with their performances. Just enjoy this French piece of jewellery from the early eighties. It is so intriguing, so riveting, that it doesn't need any suspense. Actually the suspense exists from the very beginning. François Truffaut could have made it, I guess. If you are a man and a jealous husband, try to wacch this film. A real must.

EAUX PROFONDES, or Deep Water, is a French film based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. I haven't read that book but I've read some of her other novels and I can safely say that this film is the best version of a Patricia Highsmith novel ever. It perfectly captures her tone and style, unlike the recent crappy version of TALENTED MR RIPLEY. Highsmith herself said she loved this movie.

The story is about this "odd" couple. The wife, played by the beautiful Isabelle Hupert, attracts men and brings them to her house, even in front of her husband, played by the not so beautiful Jean-Louis Trintignant. Those men eventually end up dead.

What's going with those two? Is Huppert taunting Trintignant's psychotic character? Is Huppert bringing those men for her husband to have "fun" with? Is Huppert the real psycho in this couple, knowing her husband will kill her lovers and she recklessly brings the clueless men to her house? The two are playing a deadly game with each other and men end up dead. The whole thing is never clear and that's why this film is so cool. The aura of mystery is near perfect. Because there's an aura of mystery with these two, the film becomes a pretty sharp and brilliant statement on couples in general.

It's sorta like Paul Verhoeven's THE FOURTH MAN, made 3 years after this, but without the usual violence and crudeness fond in Verhoeven's films.

EAUX PROFONDES is unlike any film I've seen. It's moody and atmospheric. The music is brilliant (arranged by Charles Dutoit) and the cinematography is beautiful. There's not much more to say. The film is as simple, or not as simple, as it sounds but personally speaking, Huppert and Trintignant make an unforgettable couple. I haven't seen it in a while and I wish they'd release it on DVD.

For fans of dark, brooding, sexy films with a "twist" look no further than EAUX PROFONDES.