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How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 18 July 2011
This article is a review of DEEP END. |
Mike, “I love her.”
Cinema owner, “You perverted little monster.”
We seem to be having a Jerzy Skolimowski resurgence lately. And that is a good thing! FOUR NIGHTS WITH ANNA came out in 2008, and was excellent. This year’s Edinburgh Film Fest did a retrospective; and DEEP END has just been re-issued by the British Film Institute. I am so glad the movie community is focusing a spot light on such a talented director.
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There is a mixture of the funny, sexy, disturbing and moving in this 1970 re-release. Mike (John Moulder-Brown) starts working as a public baths attendant in London, a place where people come to swim and bathe. This is the tail-end of the swinging sixties, the glamour is not being looked at here, instead this appears to be a debunking of it – the darker side of sexual liberation. Mike is shown the ropes by the striking Susan (Jane Asher). He seems naive, awkward, energetic; while she appears confident, brittle, antagonistic. During their proximity and shenanigans, Mike falls for her, wants to be anywhere she is, and get in the way of any of her suitors.
DEEP END starts frivolously and ends in a very different place, looking at some tough themes, interweaving them in an engaging way. There is lust, jealousy, exploitation and corruption. Lust from both men and women, in particular when not reciprocated. Jealousy, for beauty and money. Exploitation by those that should be carers. Corruption of the innocent and by people in authority. These themes are blended with the comedy of discomfiture, and the quest for romance. We could’ve been in kitchen-sink drama territory, but the stylish direction and vibrant colours make this very cinematic. Well shot, acted and written, the film feels effortless, showing the skill of everyone involved.
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