"Children don't just disappear...people LOSE them!!!"      

THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN (PG-13) 

Reviewed March 13, 1999 - Check out The Deep End of the Ocean Website.

The Deep End of the Ocean is a story about the trauma and heartache of a family experiencing the loss of a child.  When three year old Ben Cappadora disappears from a crowded hotel lobby, his mother Beth (Michelle Pfeiffer) places blame on herself and becomes utterly distraught.  Father Pat (Treat Williams) attempts to keep the family together, and big brother Vince (Jonathan Jackson) begins taking care of his baby sister, while Detective Bliss (Whoopi Goldberg) leads the search for the missing child.  As you can imagine, it's not an easy time for the Cappadora family, but somehow they manage to stay together, a family traumatized but not destroyed. 

Then, nine years later, a kind of miracle occurs.  A twelve year old boy named Sam knocks on the Cappadora's door.  He lives two blocks away and wants to mow their lawn.  Instantly, Beth recognizes him: Sam is Ben, the child they lost nine years ago.  Of course, Sam has no recollection of his past life, only knowing the family that adopted and raised him.  Still, motions are filed, and Sam/Ben is returned to the Cappadoras.  It's a major adjustment for everyone involved, and raises brand new tensions in the Cappadoro household as well as with Sam, who is now torn between his biological and adopted family.

On the one hand, The Deep End of the Ocean offers a compelling, well-acted, and nicely drawn human drama.  The performances by Pfeiffer and Williams are solid, only outdone by the surprising and memorable performance of newcomer Jonathan Jackson.  This is, in many ways, an actor's film, and the acting in Deep End is quite good.  You'll get the whole range of emotions in this film, from joy to sorrow, anger to regret, and everything in between...all done very nicely.  For this, Deep End should be commended, and is to some degree worth recommending.

On the other hand, however, it's hard to shake the notion that Deep End is nothing more than a network "movie of the week" kind of film, albeit with a bigger budget.  The setting, the storyline, and the characters all have a recycled (been there, done that) quality to them, and except for the strong performances, Deep End feels somewhat undistinguished.  Is it possible that we (or I) have just seen so many "family in crisis" films that they no longer carry the same emotional impact?  Perhaps.  But assuming you know where you are on the "emotional impact" scale, then you also have a sense of whether you'll find Deep End a movie worth seeing in the theaters, on video, or not at all.  This is a solid, well-made film, but one that feels like it's been done before...you decide.

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

anonymous entry gives this movie  stars: "This film was probably as dramatic as one can get. To depict this plot on screen means that there must be a strong performers from the cast. Pfeiffer's portrayal of the mother was inconsistent. One couldn't help feeling sorry for her in one moment but in another scene, her antics are, frankly, irritating. The character then leans more to the unsympathetic side. Same thing with the father. The people who really carried the film were Jackson and Merriman as the brothers. Their chemistry was apparent and all the scenes they did together were especially poignant." (10/14/99)

arqgua@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "Michellw ia incredible on this story fool of emotions...I´ve cryed very much...and like a lot..." (6/5/99)