By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Terence Davies
Starring: Ann Mitchell | Jolyon Coy | Karl Johnson | Rachel Weisz | Simon Russell Beale | Tom Hiddleston
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2012
Running time: 98
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700844/
Thom says: “I’ve been an assiduous fan of Terence Davies ever since his 1st feature film DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES back in 1988. Since then I found all of his films brilliant: THE LONG DAY CLOSES (1992), THE NEON BIBLE (1995), THE HOUSE OF MIRTH (2000), & the stunning documentary OF TIME & THE CITY in 2008, but this new film adapted from the Terence Rattigan play, left me feeling ice cold. The production values, the pacing, the acting, the script were all nearly flawless but to have absolutely no sympathy for the main character made me feeling like I was watching a series of lovely picture postcards with an attenuation of interest as the film slipped forward. Hester Collyer (Weisz) is married to a wealthy judge but after World War II she falls in love with a Royal Air Force pilot, Freddie (Hiddleston) who’s an absolute bounder. She decides she can’t live without him and she leaves her husband to live in a dumpy flat with Freddie. Freddie eventually leaves Hester and her life is as good as over. I could discuss forever why I find such scenarios uninteresting and why I have little pity for people who can’t live without someone they’re besotted with, especially with Hester’s background, but the artistic values are so high in this perplexing film that I was able to see its worth. 3.5 cats
“Seen at TIFF 2011”
Bruce says: “Terence Rattigan’s plays usually depict the stilted upper classes whose repressed emotions lead to dramatic tension. Based on Rattigan’s play of the same name, THE DEEP BLUE SEA is no exception. Written in 1952, a year before ‘The Sleeping Prince’ from which THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL was adapted to the screen, THE DEEP BLUE SEA is now on the big screen for the second time. The earlier effort directed by Anatole Litvak in 1955 starred Vivian Leigh, Emyln Williams, Kenneth More and Alec McCowen.
“Terence Davies remarked that Rattigan first acts were usually filled with exposition, so it was good to get all that out of the way in a matter of minutes. If only he could have heard himself say those words before making this film it would have fared much better. The main weakness of THE DEEP BLUE SEA is the lack of character development. In a stage play the audience is getting constant visual cues from everyone on stage regardless of who is speaking. Film tends to close in and eliminate all that is going on beyond. In that regard film is more sequential than theatre in getting messages to the audience. There is a lot more to those first acts than meets the eye. By abbreviating the exposition, it is difficult for the viewer to understand why Hester would be attracted to Freddy and why his behavior is so deplorable.
“By standards of her time Hester (Rachel Weisz) is a very lucky lady. She married a judge and a titled one at that. Sir William (Simon Russell Beale) is a victim of his upbringing – stodgy and uptight. When Hester complains that his mother has put them in a room with twin beds, ‘Twin beds? How were you conceived – will power?’ Bill has no inkling that his wife is craving intimacy. ‘Don’t be vulgar, talking about mummy,’ he reproaches. Bill’s mother confirms the family stance, ‘Beware of passion, Hester. It always leads to something ugly,’ as she instructs Hester. ‘What would you replace it with, then?’ asks Hester. ‘Gardening – so much safer than people don’t you think?’ her mother-in-law replies. Hester clearly does not belong in a world that eschews and belittles desire for intimacy.
“Hester and Freddy meet when she is craving a physical love and she falls madly in love with him. Freddy is marvelously physical, forget that he is average looking and a boorish cad. When Sir William discovers her infidelity, he says, ‘I will never give you a divorce and I never want to see you again.” Soon Hester moves into a flat with Freddy (Tom Hiddleston), a move that risks reputation and future.
“As their relationship progresses, things do not get better. Eventually Hester attempts to gas herself by pouring lots of coins into the sitting room heater. When her suicide attempt fails, she looks for sympathy, even empathy. Freddy finds her suicide note and reads it against her wishes. Freddy, not amused, is incapable of showing either when she needs understanding most. Their landlady (Ann Mitchell) calls Sir William who rushes to Hester’s side in spite of his earlier proclamation.
“Cinematically, THE DEEP BLUE SEA is a triumph. It is dark and moody. Davies knows how to film scenes. For example, a lovemaking scene in which Hester and Freddy are entwined was almost identical to a scene in CAFÉ DE FLORE, a French Canadian film I saw immediately after THE DEEP BLUE SEA. Davies captures the sensuality and longing in his scene; the director of CAFÉ DE FLORE conveys little emotion in his tableau. The acting is uniformly good, particularly in the lesser roles. Ann Mitchell, Barbara Jeffords and Simon Russell Beale are all extraordinary. Character development aside, Hester and Freddy are probably not as interesting today as they once were. They came onto the stage long before the Me Generation. By comparison they seem like rank amateurs. 3 1/2 cats
“(THE DEEP BLUE SEA screened at the 2012 Miami International Film Festival. Initial US release is scheduled for March 23, 2012.)”
Chris says: “This Terence Rattigan adaptation fits comfortably into Terence Davies’ filmography–perhaps a little too comfortably. The post-World War II setting and themes of repressed sexuality and unrequited love will seem overly familiar to fans of both Davies’ tone poem works (THE LONG DAY CLOSES) and his other literary adaptations (THE HOUSE OF MIRTH). Still, given that this is only his sixth feature in a quarter of a century, it’s hard to complain, ‘Oh, another Davies film,’ especially since his languorous tracking shots, poetic visuals (especially his use of light and darkness) and employment of period music as a means of expression through sing-a-longs all still resonate and service the material well.
“Rachel Weisz is terrific as Rattigan’s impulsive, romantically tortured heroine; her later scenes with her wealthy ex (Simon Russell Beale) are particularly tender and affecting, but you rarely fathom her attraction to the younger war veteran (Tom Hiddleston) she leaves him for, partially because her chemistry with Hiddleston isn’t as strong, but mostly because the film glosses over their relationship’s nuances, jumping from one emotional state to another while missing a beat or two. Worth seeing for Terence admirers (both Davies and Rattigan) but not a sufficient gateway for those unfamiliar with either artist. 3.5 cats”