The Deep Blue Sea - Movie Review

When I walked out of this movie I turned to my husband and said, “I can solve all of the main characters problems right here and now. These people need to: 1) get a job, 2) grow a pair and 3) stop being a douchebag!”

Sometimes great acting and mood just don’t cut it and this was the case for The Deep Blue Sea. The story takes place around 1950 in England. An obviously bored wife, Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) finds herself drawn to the handsome and younger ex-fighter pilot, Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston). She’s willing to give up everything to be with him, including her husband, Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beal) and her comfortable lifestyle. Of course, her husband doesn’t want to let her go, even though he’s devastated by her infidelity. He’s an average looking, meek, over polite British dude married to the gorgeous Rachel Weisz, so the audience can easily see why he would be willing to take her back.

This film captures a vintage feel beautifully and everyone’s performance was great. Yet something kept gnawing away at me. I was getting very annoyed with characters and the over the top angst. I kept trying to place myself in that time and that circumstance, yet, still, something was keeping me from feeling for the characters, especially Weisz. Her character, Hester, seemed to despise her waking hours with Freddie. He never returned her affections the way she wanted. I kept thinking that she wasn’t really lacking in love, she was lacking a purpose in her life, so she is who I’m referring to when I say get a job. Her lover Freddie is such a cad and he knows it. His life peaked when he was a pilot in the war. No one or no thing is ever going to make him as happy again. He thinks by telling a woman, “Hey baby, I can give you any more than this. You know what you were getting into,” that he has an excuse to not even try to work at a relationship. This of course makes him the “douchebag. Lastly, poor William is so beside himself with possibly losing Hester that he doesn’t realize his attitude of letting her walk all over him, is exactly what she finds so unappealing. This is why he needs to grow a pair.

So, the characters are complex enough, it seems that I somewhat cared about the plotline…what was missing? It took me a couple of days to figure it out. Hester stays with Freddie because although his personality is insufferable, he unlocks a passion inside her that she has never known. We see one slightly steaming scene and that’s it. Hey, I know they were trying to keep this movie classy and I’m no perv, but hot, steamy sex is what was missing. Sure, everything in this film evoked an old movie feel, but if we are going to believe Hester stays with Freddie, I’m afraid we need to see them set the bed on fire. Look, this can be done classy. I think everyone can agree that films like The Unbearable Likeness of Being and Henry and June were hot and intelligent. Both of those films had a plot lines that revolved around sex, even though they took place in the past. In its effort to keep itself tasteful, The Deep Blue Sea failed to truly delve into Hester’s sexual maturity and help us understand her obsession with Freddie. It also kept an otherwise wonderful performance from Rachel Weisz from being great.

I was really looking forward to this film, but in the end it fell short of my expectations. Too many aspects frustrated me and the screechy musical score almost sent me over the edge.