the deep end ( 2001 ) tilda swinton , goran visnjic , jonathan tucker , peter donat , josh lucas , raymond j . barry , tamara hope , jordon dorrance . cinematography by giles nuttgens . music by peter nashel . screenplay by scott mcgehee and david siegel , based on the novel " the blank wall " by elisabeth sanxay holding . directed by mcgehee and siegel . 99 minutes . rated r , 4 stars ( out of five stars ) review by ed johnson-ott , nuvo newsweekly www . nuvo . net archive reviews at <a href= " http : //reviews . imdb . com/reviewsby ? edward + johnson-ott " >http : //reviews . imdb . com/reviewsby ? edward + johnson-ott</a> to receive reviews by e-mail at no charge , send subscription requests to <a href= " mailto : ejohnsonott@prodigy . net " >ejohnsonott@prodigy . net</a> or e-mail <a href= " mailto : ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist . com " >ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist . com</a> with the word " subscribe " in the subject line . " the deep end " uses a color palette of rich earth tones surrounded by a vast array of blues . alluring , attractive blues , but also icy and foreboding . after taking in their beauty , the eye seeks out the reassuring browns and greens , like a tired swimmer searching for the safety of land . the production works that way as well – it pulls you in initially as a crisp , thoroughly-modern thriller , with clipped exchanges between defiantly non-communicative characters . but the real draw of the film is the submerged humanity of two key players as " the deep end " gradually reveals the melodramatic core beneath its ironic candy coating . spoiler alert : the following reveals the basic storyline . i believe the plot points are incidental , because the real rewards come in exploring the mindset of the main characters , but still , you should proceed at your own risk . with her husband tom , a naval officer , often away at sea , margaret hall ( tilda swinton ) holds down the fort , taking care of the children , beau ( jonathan tucker ) , paige ( tamara hope ) , and dylan ( jordon dorrance ) , while her father-in-law jack ( peter donat ) hovers in the background , always watching . the story opens with margaret leaving the family home in lake tahoe to storm a male strip club in reno . it seems that beau , her eldest , is having an affair with darby reese ( josh lucas ) , a disreputable sort 12 years his senior . margaret demands that darby leave her son alone , only to have the man smirk at her and announce he'll be glad to steer clear of beau – for $5000 . back at home , she tries to talk about it all with her son , but the kid won't even confirm that he's gay , let alone discuss the issues she has with his boyfriend . he does , however , get attentive when she reveals darby's $5 , 000 offer , even as he maintains his sullen demeanor . late in the evening , darby shows up outside , tossing pebbles at beau's window like a schoolchild . the two meet by the water at the boathouse , where something important happens . i won't reveal what ; suffice to say we become aware of a significant fact that margaret does not . all of this happens in the first few minutes of the movie , by the way . within a day or so , margaret's life becomes even more complicated when a suave man named alec goran visnjic ) turns up with an explicit videotape documenting the sex life of beau and darby . he and his associate are willing to destroy the tape , once margaret coughs up $50 , 000 . 
