The
Deep End (2001)
The "Cruising" of the new millenium.
"The Deep End" is intensely homophobic
and gruesome in it's portrayal of gays as "user" pedophiles
who prey upon high school boys. At least, that's what
could be said of the film after the first 45 minutes
or so. The second half of the film is actually quite
good, but one simply cannot forgive the initial premise
and set-up.
The plot of the film requires protag
Tilda Swinton, as a colorless middle class mother,
to do the ridiculous. This is another one of those
films where someone tries to cover up an accident
because they think a "crime" has been committed, rather
than simply go to the police or ask anyone involved
what might have happened. It's totally outside the
realm of possibility. At least here the minor justification
is that Swinton is trying to protect her "confused"
17 year old son who has been seeing a 3 0 year old
man. But the house of cards all of this is built upon
is a shambles.
Prior to this plot nexus, Swinton's
son, a goody-two-shows honor student with oh so much
promise, gets involved with one of the ugliest, most
inflammatory gay male characters ever to grace the
screen. How abysmal and vulgar is this character?
He actually beats up the youth after calling him names
like "precious" and "lover." It's repulsive and gross.
I'm sure many will say that this character is necessary
for the plot of the film to work and that there are
really guys like that out there, but that is not true.
The fact remains gays continue to be bashed cinematically
by Hollywood. It is not necessarily that the boy's
lover be a "villain" for this set- up to work. It's
sickening and affirms so many stereotypes.
Swinton, coming here from the school
that no make-up means I'm a serious actor, does quite
a fine job in the film. But the real find here is
Goran Visnjic, whose character really makes the film
cohesive. The chemistry between he and Swinton is
right on target and the dialogue they utter crackles
with electricity when they are on screen together.
Visnjic comes into the film mid-way and his arrival
is a welcome reprieve from the "homosexuality is bad"
vibe the film has had up until this point.
"The Deep End" could have been a masterwork.
Why Scott McGehee and David Siegel, who wrote and
co-directed here (leaving one to question if their
relationship is simply business) felt it necessary
to defame the entire gay population is beyond me.
Why they felt they had to return to the "Boys in the
Band" ethos that being gay is oh-so very sad is anyone's
guess. Perhaps it's because this film is based on
a book written in 1947 that it has such an outdated
approach to handling gay characters and plot.
Notes:
The film won an award for cinematography
at Sundance.
