Their first endeavor was "Suture" 1993, and seven years after, Scott McGehee and David Siegel together gives us "The Deep End," another thinking man's thriller with action and mystery to solve. In "The Deep End," we the viewers get to know some information that the characters in the film do not know. But don't for a moment think that we know it all, or feel that you have to exert effort to try to solve anything. Just sit back and take it all in. The plot is so well written that as the story evolves, the change of events comes naturally in rhythm. The audience was quiet throughout the film's viewing. I watched with fascination and anticipation as McGehee and Siegel weaved their story. It's a production comparable to a Hollywood big budget thriller - the performances, cinematography, set and locale, music; every detail contributes meaningfully to the film.
The cast is solid. From the ever captivating Tilda Swinton as Margaret (Hall) the caring mother and perplexing wife, to Jonathan Tucker as Beau (Hall) the youthful son with a secret, to the steadily quiet Goran Visnjic the mystery man who turned up unexpectedly at the door of the Hall's family house, to Peter Donat's supporting role as Jack (Hall) the grandfather, to the brief appearances of Tamara Hope as Paige (Hall) the daughter and Jordan Dorrance as Dylan (Hall) the young son, and not to forget Josh Lucas as Darby Reese.
Cinematography is exquisite. It's refreshing to once again watch a film with sharp focus and crisp colors, use of wide angle coverage of the scenes (from the opening continuous shot of water-rippling pattern, the clarity of angle to the specific moods - be it outdoor or underwater, to the pull back of the camera to include the Hall's family house as being just another light at night among others against the mountain backdrop of a Tahoe lakeside community), and close-up's effectively applied at measured timing. All these details are not obvious during the viewing as we are quite caught up by what's happening to Margaret and Beau and mystery man Alek...
While German writer-director Tom Tykwer ("Winter Sleepers," "Princess and the Warrior") gives us drama surrounding the subject of Fate, both of McGehee and Siegel's features somehow also has "Fate" come into play in the storyline. They give us crime thrillers subliminally prompted by the element of Fate. (In "Suture," by strange happenstance, Dennis Haysbert is half-brother Clay Arlington who is black, to Michael Harris' Vincent Towers who is white - the film being shot in explicit black and white complemented the storyline well.)
Definitely, the refinement of the plot in "The Deep End" is the quality what Hollywood's "What Lies Beneath" 2000 did not have (in spite of the presence of Michelle Pfeiffer.) Thanks to Fox Searchlight Pictures for distributing this i5 Films production. Scott McGehee and David Siegel - smooth operators, they are. It seems worth the wait for their next nuance-filled filmic experience.
Other Tilda Swinton film appreciation: Sally Porter's "Orlando" 1992; Susan Streitfeld's "Female Perversions" 1996.
The cast is solid. From the ever captivating Tilda Swinton as Margaret (Hall) the caring mother and perplexing wife, to Jonathan Tucker as Beau (Hall) the youthful son with a secret, to the steadily quiet Goran Visnjic the mystery man who turned up unexpectedly at the door of the Hall's family house, to Peter Donat's supporting role as Jack (Hall) the grandfather, to the brief appearances of Tamara Hope as Paige (Hall) the daughter and Jordan Dorrance as Dylan (Hall) the young son, and not to forget Josh Lucas as Darby Reese.
Cinematography is exquisite. It's refreshing to once again watch a film with sharp focus and crisp colors, use of wide angle coverage of the scenes (from the opening continuous shot of water-rippling pattern, the clarity of angle to the specific moods - be it outdoor or underwater, to the pull back of the camera to include the Hall's family house as being just another light at night among others against the mountain backdrop of a Tahoe lakeside community), and close-up's effectively applied at measured timing. All these details are not obvious during the viewing as we are quite caught up by what's happening to Margaret and Beau and mystery man Alek...
While German writer-director Tom Tykwer ("Winter Sleepers," "Princess and the Warrior") gives us drama surrounding the subject of Fate, both of McGehee and Siegel's features somehow also has "Fate" come into play in the storyline. They give us crime thrillers subliminally prompted by the element of Fate. (In "Suture," by strange happenstance, Dennis Haysbert is half-brother Clay Arlington who is black, to Michael Harris' Vincent Towers who is white - the film being shot in explicit black and white complemented the storyline well.)
Definitely, the refinement of the plot in "The Deep End" is the quality what Hollywood's "What Lies Beneath" 2000 did not have (in spite of the presence of Michelle Pfeiffer.) Thanks to Fox Searchlight Pictures for distributing this i5 Films production. Scott McGehee and David Siegel - smooth operators, they are. It seems worth the wait for their next nuance-filled filmic experience.
Other Tilda Swinton film appreciation: Sally Porter's "Orlando" 1992; Susan Streitfeld's "Female Perversions" 1996.