The thriller genre is getting a new addition in March 2022. Deep Water, the movie which is famed for bringing Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas together, has been labeled an “erotic thriller”. The movie is based on a 1957 novel of the same name, authored by Patricia Highsmith, who also wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley. Given the novel that the movie is being adapted from and the producer of the movie, Adrian Lyne, Deep Water has an intriguing foundation.
Lynne is reputed for his production of thrillers that blend sex, power, and suspense. His previous projects include Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal. Initial reports regarding the movie have claimed the movie to be dramatic, steamy, and suspenseful. The movie has been written by Zach Helm and Euphoria’s Sam Levinson.
Everything We Know About Deep Water’s Plot
While not many details of the movie are widely known, Deep Water will reportedly follow the same storyline as the original Highsmith novel. As such, set in the town of Little Wesley, the story will follow the turbulent marriage of an affluent couple, Vic and Melinda Van Allen. The official synopsis for the movie on Hulu reads:
A psychological thriller that takes us inside the marriage of picture-perfect Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas) Van Allen to discover the dangerous mind games they play and what happens to the people that get caught up in them.
The film is expected to be psychologically stimulating as it breaks into the facade of idyllic American family life to dig out the messiness which is concealed behind a picture-perfect appearance. Vic and Melinda, although in an unhappy marriage, arrive at an agreement to have an open relationship to avoid the messiness of divorce proceedings. However, as the audience can probably guess, things become extremely toxic and quickly go wrong as the storyline takes a dark turn. The emotional rollercoaster of the Deep End storyline eventually leads to deadly results. The tale is thus layered with depth as it dives into the intricate mind games played and the mental toll extra-marital affairs, jealousy and possessiveness have on a couple in a loveless relationship.
The Cast of Deep Water
The Deep Water cast carries some famous names, including Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, who will act as the main characters in the narrative. Tony Award-winning actress Tracy Letts, Rachel Blanchard, Finn Wittrock, and Jacob Elordi are also a part of the star-studded cast. Speaking to E! Online, Elordi referred to Armas and Affleck as “titans of film” and said that the Deep Water project was probably one of his favorites – “Probably my favorite experience of recent was making Deep Water, and to kind of step back and watch these like titans of film make a movie. I could just sort of linger around and play a small role, and you know be involved in a movie that I would really watch and enjoy.” Armas and Affleck are indeed well-suited to the genre of Deep Water given their previous roles in movies such as Knives Out and Gone Girl.
Deep Water Official Trailer
An official trailer to the movie was released by Hulu in March 2022. The trailer adds to the intrigue and mystery of the narrative with dark tones, abruptly changing scenes, strategically chosen clips from the movie, and a suspenseful melody in the background. The trailer ends with the cliffhanger quote “the love story is never the whole story”, successfully keeping viewers hooked onto what’s to come.
While Deep Water has been acclaimed for its intriguing and suspenseful storyline, the movie has also been reputed for bringing Affleck and Armas together in real life. The actors met initially on the set of the project and later entered into a romantic relationship.
However, Armas and Affleck went their separate ways after almost a year together. Speaking to People, a source said that “Ben is no longer dating Ana. She broke it off. Their relationship was complicated. Ana doesn’t want to be Los Angeles based and Ben obviously has to since his kids live in Los Angeles.”
Like many other films, Deep Water, too, has been repeatedly pushed back due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The movie was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020. However, owing to the pandemic, it was postponed to August 13, 2021, and then to January 14, 2022. Now, an official release date via Hulu for the US and the UK has been set for Friday, March 18, 2022. The initially planned theatrical release for the movie has been canceled.
