Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Deep Blue Sea (2011) - Directed by Terence Davies



Terence Davies’ first non-documentary work since House of Mirth (2000) is a spare and emotionally fragile work that contains magnificent pacing, inspired visuals, and a devastating performance from Rachel Weisz who is in nearly every scene in the film and commands your attention the entire way. It’s one of the best films of 2011 (or 2012 depending on release dates and locations). Davies here works within a framework of the classic melodramas and in a certain sense, I was reminded of Lean's Brief Encounter (1945) except that this story somewhat picks up where Brief Encounter leaves off. Here, the female protagonist pursues and consummates the affair and is left to deal with the consequences. This is a film that may bore or exasperate some, but for fans of love stories or melodramas, it doesn’t get better than this.



The Deep Blue Sea is based on the Terence Rattigan play from 1952 of the same name. It is the story of Hester Collyer (Weisz), wife of a Judge named William (Simon Russell Beale). They live a rather privileged existence, yet have no children. We pick up the story after Hester has been involved in an affair with an RAF pilot named Freddie (Tom Hiddleston), and in fact, the story basically occurs in one day----the day Hester has decided to commit suicide. Freddie had forgotten her birthday and had gone away for the weekend and in a state of despondency, Hester attempted to kill herself. She is saved by her neighbors, but spends the rest of the day remembering moments from her past. This is told in a mosaic flashback form. We see moments with her husband, we see moments with Freddie. We slowly begin to put things together. Later that day, Freddie comes home to find her in a state of disengagement and finds her suicide note. The rest of the film involves Hester attempting to reconcile her feelings and her relationships.




What I find so thoroughly engaging about this film, is its mature and its deeply introspective approach to the subject matter. As the audience we are trusted to find our way through Hester’s feelings. Yes it is obvious that she is distraught and depressed. But why? As the film unfolds, it is clear that this is a work of great character examination. It appears that Hester married for safety and comfort, but when she met Freddie, she found sexual and emotional exhilaration. When she left her husband for her lover, she found herself torn between guilt and passion…between shame and love. This produced in her a deep rooted sense of self-loathing and self-hatred, so that she remained balanced on the precipice of an emotional abyss. She gets along, but if there is any negative emotional setbacks in her relationship, she takes it extremely hard. What is so fascinating is that Hester does not avoid emotional drama. She is almost drawn to it as a way of feeling SOMETHING. When Freddie picks up her suicide note, she does not try to tear it away from him. She wants him to read it. She wants him to know her pain and wants to be put in that emotional state of turmoil and bring him into it. She also turns away her husband even though he seems to still care for her and is willing to take her back to comfort and safety. She denies him and instead prefers to stay in her perpetual state of melancholy, depression, and suicidal fantasies. Like I said though, this film is deeply introspective, and outside of a few outbursts, is a rather quiet, but penetrating work.




Camerawork by Florian Hoffmeister allows a hazy glow to overtake the viewer. The film is filtered so that nothing is quite in extreme focus and we are awash in cigarette smoke and dark rooms and shadows. Davies lets us wallow in the mise-en-scene and the pace is very slow and deliberate, which allows a sense of importance to set in even though the film is only 98 minutes. Punctuating the film with feeling is a violin concerto piece by Samuel Barber, which gives the film a sense of beautiful desperation. It’s a wonderful piece of music. Foremost, though, is the performance by Rachel Weisz. She makes us believe that this woman is willing to be absolutely miserable, perhaps even crave her turmoil, all for the sake of love. Yes she’s in love…..and it’s killing her. Weisz is tremendous in moments of emotional outpouring, and also in moments of pensive reservation. There is an extended scene where she stands at her window, smoking a cigarette. You can feel her desperate need to be lost in her own mind. Weisz does not turn this into a pity party. We don’t feel sorry for her but instead regard her with fascination. How far will this woman go to be continually humiliated and destroyed? This film intensely examines the depth of her emotional state. It is a fantastic work.



15 comments:

R. D. Finch said...

Jon, it's good to read your take on this film, one I've read some good things about. But you know how coy reviewers can be when it comes to specifics. I've seen only a couple of films directed by Davies. "The House of Mirth" wasn't a masterpiece, but I liked it, especially Gillian Anderson's performance and the interesting casting of the usually sympathetic Laura Linney in an unsympathetic role. "Distant Voices, Still Lives" I found artificial and off-putting despite the praise heaped on it.

This one sounds a bit like the latter in its construction but more focused. It's out on DVD, so I plan to watch it soon. After reading your post, I'm especially looking forward to seeing Rachel Weisz, an actress I've seen give some very engaging performances. Have you ever seen Davies' "The Long Day Closes," one that sounds appealing?

blahblahblah Toby said...

I know so little about this movie, but you referencing Brief Encounter has got me intrigued enough to skip the rest of your review to avoid spoilers (sorry!)

Jon said...

@R.D.---Thanks I have seen The Long Day Closes but a long time ago. More than 10 years. I remember liking it. Not as much as this film. I think the film is an intense mood piece. It wallows in introspection, which is my cup of tea. I think you will like this one more than The House of Mirth etc.

@Toby- Yes I think you will like this one as well! I'm really hoping so because like you, I'm a Brief Encounter fan. This one takes that sort of scenario to a different level.

Jon said...

Oh and R.D., Rachel Weisz is really great here. I think this is her best performance I have seen.

blahblahblah Toby said...

It's now number 2 on my quickflix queue, ideally it will arrive soon, can't imagine the masses choosing this over whatever blockbuster is released this week. I'll try to remember to come and let you know how it goes/read your review in full.

Jon said...

Alright Toby! Can't wait to hear what you have to say! Looking forward to it.

Sam Juliano said...

Jon, I will get the hyperbole out of the way immediately by addressing a question our good friend R.D. Finch posed in the comment section about Davies's THE LONG DAY CLOSES.

THE LONG DAY CLOSES, seen recently during a week-long revival at the Film Forum is my choice as the greatest film of the 1990's. Period. I went into sensory overload after that screening, realized at the very least that Davies is now the best living British filmmaker and one of the glories of world cinema. I am of course also a huge fan of DISTANT VOICES STILL LIVES, THE HOUSE OF MIRTH and TIME AND THE CITY. This force of cinematic nature if I can describe Davies as such, combines poetry, melancholic style and deep levels of emotional depth to move you on a level that few other artists have attempted much less have reached. I am very happy to see you enthusiastically embrace Samuel Barber's ravishing 'Violin Concerto' which is always unfairly overshadowed in concert halls and on film scores by his elegiac 'Adagio For Strings.' It's employment in THE DEEP BLUE SEA is a shattering coda. I completely agree with you that 'smoke' and 'shadows' dominate the visual scheme, and that Florian Hoffmeister's cinematography is painted through filters in a deep melancholic vacuum. Emotional turbulence is on display and as you rightly note Ms. Weitz delivers an extraordinary performance.

There are still four and a half months left to 2012, but there's no question that this magnificent achievement is one of the best of the year without any question.

You haven risen to the challenge in framing Davies's incomparable artistry, Jon.

Bravo.

Jon said...

Thanks Sam for your always glowing support. I do recall when you saw The Long Day Closes at The Film Forum. I have been meaning to rewatch it but that one is hard to track down. Last time I looked it wasn't in print? Yes Samuel Barber's concerto just breaks you in two in this film. What a piece of music it is. It is shattering. I do know what you mean about it being a 2012 film release in the U.S. It was released last year in the UK, but will be up for best of releases for 2012 here. Thanks for your thoughts Sam!

Matt Jo said...

Hey Jon, any chance you'd be interested in writing for We Got This Covered? Email me at matt[at]wegotthiscovered.com

David Lawrence said...

Fantastic piece Jon on a worthy subject, one of the more devastating films I saw last year.

As you describe, the film features an absolutely heartbreaking performance by Weisz, easily one of the best by an actress that I have seen in quite some time and yet which sadly seems to have largely gone unnoticed. That the love and lifestyle offered to Hester by her husband would be synonymous with a debilitating numbness would be overlooked by a judgemental society she would find herself in at the time of this film . Prior to the Hiddleston's character's arrival did Hester have anything in her life beside her husband? Safety and comfort are the main desirable attributes for life for those who are willing to accept a calm, uneventful existence. That a young woman in Hester's position would be so willing to welcome passion - whether love is also involved is arguable - as the force breaking down the bars of her prison of loneliness rings completely true, as does her pain when that passion is later not returned to the all-encompassing level in which she embraces Hiddleston. Her great obsession is to feel something, anything, which makes her know that she is alive and when the passion escapes she is left with nothing but the ultimate loneliness of her existence which she was always destined to have to face again. Her story is one of absolute tragedy.

Jon said...

Well said David...and one of the truly great comments ever posted at this time. I can tell you were really moved by the film. I agree with everything you said here. Weisz is tremendous, and really was unsung here. I agree....she was so willing to welcome the passion into her life and then finding that it is not shared to the same degree does ring very true and is terribly heartbreaking. Just tremendous stuff. Thanks David!

blahblahblah Toby said...

It finally came thanks to Quickflix and I was thoroughly impressed.

Your line "Davies lets us wallow in the mise-en-scene and the pace is very slow and deliberate," is perfect, the movie seems to wallow in every way.

I think you used the word mesmerising too and I think you'd struggle to find a movie and a performance more mesmerising in recent cinematic history. I've not really given Weisz much thought in the past so this was quite the eye opener.

And now Terence Davies must go on to the list of directors I have to see more from.

Great review as always, thanks for the recommendation.

Jon said...

@Toby- Oh I'm really glad you liked it! I totally thought you would. It seemed like something you would enjoy. You're right, isn't Weisz amazing? I too had probably not given her a whole lot of credit for anything before, but she's almost a revelation here! Yes I'm totally in love with this film.

VonUexkuell said...

What a slog this film was. Portentous, self-important, drowning in its own atmospherics. I can't believe it was only 98 minutes. It felt like 3 hours. Davies is way overrated.

Jon said...

I don't care that you don't like it. I explained why I like it. I'm not interested in convincing you of anything. The point is, the film didn't remind me of anything else and I like that.