# Deep End of the Ocean, The (1999)

### reviewed by
LARRY MCGILLICUDDY

    The Deep End Of the Ocean (1999)
    Reviewed by Larry McGillicuddy 1999

Rating: ** (out of 4) Directed by Ulu Grossbard Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Jonathan Jackson, Ryan Merriman, John Kapelos, Whoopi Goldberg

The Deep End of the Ocean is a drama based on the bestselling book by Jacqueline Mitchard (sp?). I'm sure the book itself is fine, but it was probably not a good idea to transfer it to film. Many scenes, such as one where Michelle Pfeiffer breaks down in an emotional fit and bites her husband's hand, may have read well on paper, but on film all they do is provoke laughter from the audience.

Pfeiffer is a mother of three whose younger son Ben is kidnapped while she was making reservations at her high school reunion. The first half of the film deals with the aftermath of this loss and how the family copes with it. Pfeiffer turns into an emotional recluse and the older son Vincent starts to rebel. The father, played by Treat Williams, tries his best to hold the family together. The film takes way too much time here, telling us very little. It doesn't favor comparably with an early 80s film called Without a Trace. Kate Nelligan's cold, distant performance as the mother in that film was far more interesting and dramatically effective than Michelle Pfeiffer's crying and shouting here.

Then the setting shifts to nine years later, where the family has moved to a suburban neighborhood in Chicago. Everyone except Vincent seems to have recovered from the incident and the family appears to have moved on with their lives. One day a young boy shows up at their door asking if they need their lawn mowed. He lookes remarkably like Ben, the kidnapped son. A fingerprint match confirms this and Ben is reunited with his family.

The film here tries to explore complex relationships within the family and with Ben's adoptive father, who he still calls dad. The filmmakers are far more successful here, but there are still problems. As Ben, young Ryan Merriman is not up to the challenge of playing such a complex role. Not enough is done with Ben's adoptive father, played with admirable honesty by John Kapelos. In particular, the final scene feels false because it was not preceded by a scene with Kapelos and Merriman, that wouldve been crucial to the plot development.

If there is one great thing in The Deep End of the Ocean, it is Jonathan Jackson's portrayal of the older Vincent. The films most touching moments come when it explores the relationship of the two brothers, and this is mostly due to the strength and depth of Jackson's performance. He is so good, we can predict a scene of personal revelation one hour before the screenplay decides it's time to tell us in the final scene, And the final scene works on it's own, but it needed a preceding scene with Kapelos and a followup scene with the parents. Many more wounds needed to be healed but unfortunately the screenwriter was too lazy to attempt that.

Larry McGillicuddy - The Cinemaniac More reviews at http://members.xoom.com/lmcgill/movpage.htm

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