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"Kids don't just vanish up in smoke, kids don't just get lost, PEOPLE LOSE THEM!" Pat Cappadora (Treat Williams) yells in an argument to his wife Beth (Michelle Pfeiffer) about their three-year-old Ben being kidnapped while at Beth's 15-year reunion. It seems that seven-year-old Vincent (Cory Buck) didn't keep close enough of an eye. Beth's hysterical, and nobody knows what to do.
Flash ahead nine years. The baby Kerry is now nine years old. Vincent (now played by Jonathon Jackson) is a rebellious teen with a knack for hot-wiring cars. Pat has his own resturant in Chicago (named Cappadora's). Beth has given up photographing. When a boy, Sam Karras (Ryan Merriman), offers to mow their lawn, Beth takes photos. And, lo and behold, it happens to be little Ben.
Touching, superbly acted, well written, and emotionally moving. Pfeiffer and Williams give great performances. When Pfeiffer was hysterical, that seemed a little forced; other than that she was great. Williams delievered a strong dramatic performance, he was perfect in almost every way. The supporting characters delievered strong emotions and were very believeable.
Deep End's sap isn't falsely given to you: it's done in a very believable way, even if it does seem a little over-the-top and unlikely at first. Not many movies can truly force-feed you emotion and lump-in-the-throats, but this one does.
The plot twists actually were somewhat unpredictable. Actually, the movie was divided in half: the first half is when Ben is missing, the second is when Sam comes. When the finale comes in, I was surprised, even though they go for the "Hollywood Ending".
It definately didn't seem scripted. The human interactions were very real, and the chemistry between everyone (especially Jackson and Merriman) were extremely believeable.
The Deep End of the Ocean is a touching, sad, yet somehow satisfying yarn of family.
Rated PG-13 for language and thematic elements.
Review Date: December 13, 2002