Film Review
Although somewhat marred by its jarring excesses (particularly the overuse of music to
create and emphasise mood),
Eaux profondes is a respectable adaptation of Patricia
Highsmith's novel
Deep Water, painting a disturbing portrait of
marital conflict in a seemingly respectable bourgeois setting. Although the film was directed by
Michel Deville, it has a distinctly Hitchcockian feel to it, with
camera motion and lighting imaginatively used to heighten the tension and
suspense. In many way, it resembles a good Claude Chabrol film, but with
a more sardonic undertone.
Jean-Louis Trintignant is surprisingly chilling as a man who
flies into a rage when his pet snails are endangered but
who has no compunction whatsoever about killing other men to keep his wife. This
first rate performance is matched by that of his co-star, Isabelle Huppert, who
somehow manages to convey female vulnerability and cold masculine resolve,
as and when the mood suits her.
Although the film tends to drift in its second half, and its ending is
somethimng of a disappointment,
Eaux profondes is a strangely
compelling work which delivers a few unexpected shocks. Somewhat darker
in tone than Deville's early comedies -
L'Appartement des filles (1963),
À cause, à cause d'une femme (1963) -
it still has a comedic edge to it, and this is its main charm.
© James Travers 2002
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Michel Deville film:
Péril en la demeure (1985)
Film Synopsis
Vic Allen appears to accept his young wife Melanie's flirtations with men of her own age
with a generous insouciance. He amuses himself by scaring off her potential lovers
by claiming that he killed one of their predecessors. This only increases
his wife's antagonism towards him, but Vic loves her too much to let her go. When
Melanie's next suitor is found dead in a swimming pool, she is convinced that her husband
killed him, but she has no proof. Their psychological battle of wills has only just
begun...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.