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THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN
A powerhouse lead performance from Michelle Pfeiffer is the centerpiece of an affecting drama from 1999 called The Deep End of the Ocean which takes a surprisingly balanced look at what is basically every parents' nightmare, but unlike most films on this subject, this one addresses everyone involved.
It is 1988 in Wisconsin where we meet Beth Cappadora (Pfeiffer), a photographer, wife, and mother of young Vincent, Ben, and baby Kerry. One morning Beth kisses husband Pat (Treat Williams) goodbye and packs the kids in the car as she plans to take them with her to DC for her high school reunion. Upon arrival at the hotel, Beth goes to the registration desk to check in, leaving Vincent and Ben alone. When she returns, Ben is no where to be found. The police are immediately alerted and we are informed that most missing children turn up within five hours. We watch the five hour mark turn into six weeks, not to mention the agony Beth is going through, trying to deal with the reality of what happened without blaming herself and without neglecting the rest of her family.
Flash forward nine years later when Beth answers the door one day and there is a young neighbor there who offers to mow her lawn. It is apparent through Beth's movements that she believes this young man is Ben, who it turns out has been living just a few blocks away for years. The delicate process of returning Ben to his family is initiated but the requisite happy ending is a bumpy and emotionally-charged journey that requires patience and riveted this reviewer to the screen.
Director Ulu Grosbard (Straight Time; True Confessions)lends a sensitive directorial hand to Stephen Schniff's surprisingly balanced screenplay (based on a book by Jacquelyn Mitchard), which offers a family torn apart by what can only be described as a nightmare, but what the Cappadora family doesn't count on is the fact that Ben doesn't remember his life as Cappadora and thats where the real drama unfolds here, not to mention the father who raised Ben who is an innocent victim in this whole thing and Vincent, the older brother who has been seriously wounded by his mother's neglect and his own guilt.
Grosbard pulls an Oscar-worthy performance from Michelle Pfeiffer that makes you completely care about this woman and insist on her happiness, even though we're never quite sure if that's even possible. Pfeiffer gets solid support from Williams as her loving husband and Whoopi Goldberg as a sympathetic police officer. Ryan Merriman has some strong moments as the returned Ben/Sam and there is also a star-making turn from five time Daytime Emmy Award winner Jonathan Jackson as the tortured Vincent. Some lovely photography and a lush musical score are the finishing touches on this beautifully human family drama that, if caught in the right mood, will ignite a tear duct.
A powerhouse lead performance from Michelle Pfeiffer is the centerpiece of an affecting drama from 1999 called The Deep End of the Ocean which takes a surprisingly balanced look at what is basically every parents' nightmare, but unlike most films on this subject, this one addresses everyone involved.
It is 1988 in Wisconsin where we meet Beth Cappadora (Pfeiffer), a photographer, wife, and mother of young Vincent, Ben, and baby Kerry. One morning Beth kisses husband Pat (Treat Williams) goodbye and packs the kids in the car as she plans to take them with her to DC for her high school reunion. Upon arrival at the hotel, Beth goes to the registration desk to check in, leaving Vincent and Ben alone. When she returns, Ben is no where to be found. The police are immediately alerted and we are informed that most missing children turn up within five hours. We watch the five hour mark turn into six weeks, not to mention the agony Beth is going through, trying to deal with the reality of what happened without blaming herself and without neglecting the rest of her family.
Flash forward nine years later when Beth answers the door one day and there is a young neighbor there who offers to mow her lawn. It is apparent through Beth's movements that she believes this young man is Ben, who it turns out has been living just a few blocks away for years. The delicate process of returning Ben to his family is initiated but the requisite happy ending is a bumpy and emotionally-charged journey that requires patience and riveted this reviewer to the screen.
Director Ulu Grosbard (Straight Time; True Confessions)lends a sensitive directorial hand to Stephen Schniff's surprisingly balanced screenplay (based on a book by Jacquelyn Mitchard), which offers a family torn apart by what can only be described as a nightmare, but what the Cappadora family doesn't count on is the fact that Ben doesn't remember his life as Cappadora and thats where the real drama unfolds here, not to mention the father who raised Ben who is an innocent victim in this whole thing and Vincent, the older brother who has been seriously wounded by his mother's neglect and his own guilt.
Grosbard pulls an Oscar-worthy performance from Michelle Pfeiffer that makes you completely care about this woman and insist on her happiness, even though we're never quite sure if that's even possible. Pfeiffer gets solid support from Williams as her loving husband and Whoopi Goldberg as a sympathetic police officer. Ryan Merriman has some strong moments as the returned Ben/Sam and there is also a star-making turn from five time Daytime Emmy Award winner Jonathan Jackson as the tortured Vincent. Some lovely photography and a lush musical score are the finishing touches on this beautifully human family drama that, if caught in the right mood, will ignite a tear duct.