Deep Water asks the deep moral question: Can a drone engineer be sexy?
They became a visible couple in March 2020, right before the pandemic shut down all social life in the US. Perhaps because of the lack of anyone doing anything and de Armas’s newfound stardom (Knives Out was released in the fall of 2019), photographers spent a lot of time tracking Affleck and de Armas’s activities together. Deep Water also functions as a cherished reminder of the infamous Affleck/de Armas real-life relationship, trapped eternally in amber. It was a time many things were taken from us — and for a brief stretch, it looked like we might not get this movie. Deep Water is the movie you’ll want to text your friends about, and then invite them over to watch again, together, so you can witness their reactions when, say, de Armas pantomimes plucking one of Affleck’s stray pubic hairs out of her teeth. They officially became the “It” couple of the pandemic quarantine. There’s much more menace and much less opacity with Vic, who presents as more of a loser than Nick ever did. Affleck is a guru of calibrating and finding the difference between. The two reportedly fell for each other when Deep Water was filmed in fall of 2019. Vic (Affleck) is a man who invented a microchip that’s integral to drone warfare; he’s become rich off of drone murders. She whispers alarm into phrases like “lobster bisque” and “mac and cheese” in a way that will now haunt me anytime I look at a New American menu. He’s married to Melinda (de Armas), a terminally amorous woman who seemingly hates Vic. That’s not because she’s an ethical pacifist or concerned about the American government’s history of “accidental” civilian casualties, but because Vic is nice and boring. This setup eventually goes sour as Melinda escalates her affairs, hoping to get reactions out of Vic, and Vic gets angrier about how embarrassing those affairs are.
This movie is a cautionary tale, and the problem is not the overheated sex.
But I also want you to think hard about your own friend group, and the position you and your partner occupy within it. If you’ve ever been at a gathering where a celebrity unexpectedly showed up, you’ve experienced the way that the attention of every single person turns to them, as if they are a magnet and you all are mere iron filings quivering in the famous person’s field. When a couple sucks up all the oxygen in a friend group, it’s no wonder everyone else gets a little light-headed! Later at the same party, Vic threatens the bohunk, news of which soon spreads to the whole friend group. But at every one of those parties, those poor friends have to deal with Vic (Affleck) and Melinda (de Armas). We first meet all these fine folks at one such party, where Mary (Devyn A. Tyler) tells a withdrawn Vic that “a few of us are concerned” about the way Melinda is all over the blond, single bohunk in their midst. One of them is flirting and the other is sulking, and she’s feeling up some guy on the dance floor.
Seeing exes Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas on screen together will be an undeniable attraction (if not of the "Fatal" variety) for "Deep Water," but that ...
Adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith ("The Talented Mr. Ripley") and relegated to a low-key premiere on Hulu, the story hinges on the strange marriage between Vic (Affleck) and Melinda ("Knives Out's" de Armas), a picture-perfect couple that outwardly have everything, including his invention-earned wealth and their adorable young daughter.The two have reached an apparent understanding, however, that allows her to compensate for his indifference and emotional distance by taking lovers, an unhappily-ever-after dynamic that causes discomfort among their friends, with whom they regularly throw neighborhood parties, mostly due to her brazenness.As for Vic, he acts unperturbed by his wife's infidelity, but there's the little matter of Melinda's one-time "friend" who has gone missing, and lingering suspicions as to whether he had anything to do with that.Vic doesn't seek to quell those rumblings, underscoring the mind games that the couple plays not only with each other, but those around them. While the movie falls apart toward the end, the mystery -- and crackling central performances -- cruises along at a low boil much of the way. Seeing exes Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas on screen together will be an undeniable attraction (if not of the "Fatal" variety) for "Deep Water," but that shouldn't obscure the simple pleasures of this erotic thriller directed by Adrian Lyne, a crafty veteran of that genre.
Is it OK to long for the days of the movie nymphomaniac? The woman who “just can't help herself” and thus becomes a magnet for both the desire and scorn of ...
(The script is by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson, adapted from a novel by Patricia Highsmith.) The did-he-or-didn’t-he question isn’t even the point; the movie is more fixated on inviting us to gawk at Melinda and Vic’s twisted mind games, and to wonder why he puts up with it as Melinda repeats her signature moves of giggling, pouting, and drinking wine lustily from whatever goblet is readily available. Meanwhile, she shuts him out of her bedroom—except once in a while, when she’s in the mood, generally instigated by Vic’s having acted out in a jealous rage, she allows him to stay. Until he doesn’t. But nothing happens in Deep Water that you don’t figure out in the first 30 minutes, and that seems to be by design. Then Vic threatens one of Melinda’s boy-toys by claiming, as a joke, that he killed one of her previous lovers. The woman who “just can’t help herself” and thus becomes a magnet for both the desire and scorn of men, and sometimes women? Is it OK to long for the days of the movie nymphomaniac?
Check out this guide for all the details on how to watch Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas' erotic thriller 'Deep Water'.
Deep Water is a Hulu exclusive in the US so the only way you can watch it in the country is on the streaming service. And to be fair, it's probably better that you watch this movie in a more intimate setting. And if you like the experience, there's a whole lot of great content on the service that you could check out. Starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson, the film explores the story of a married couple whose lives are turned upside down after a billionaire offers them a million dollars to spend the night with the wife. Remember how I said the film was supposed to be released in 2020? Soon, it was announced that Deep Water would move to a streaming-only release and the release date was announced on Valentine's Day 2022. As stated above, Deep Water is a Hulu exclusive so you can't watch it in theaters. In the US, Deep Water was released on Hulu on March 18, 2022. As mentioned above, the movie has been released internationally on Amazon Prime Video so if you're outside the US, you can watch Deep Water on that service instead. Deep Water is an erotic thriller, extra emphasis on the "thriller" part. The movie is centered around a married couple in a loveless relationship who engage in a dangerous game to keep their marriage together. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "erotic"? Slow jazz?
No offense to this film, but I wish I was rewatching “Gone Girl.” All the ingredients are there: Ben Affleck, dark score, unhappy wife.
They get in a car chase, and the pretentious writer dies.Ana realizes Ben has been killing off all of her B.F.s and tries to leave, but her daughter very creepily stops her by throwing her bag in the pool.Okay, it seems Ana is going to stay with Ben and be his accomplice? What’s hard about this?There’s a guy missing in town, and Ben heavily implies to the blond man (ugh) that he killed him for having an affair with Ana. Yikes.Oh, wait, he just straight-up says, “I killed him.”Or is Ben Affleck just tall?Now why is Ana eating an apple in the car on the way home from the party? She doesn’t seem to care.Why are these people constantly at lawn parties?Really cute shot of a sleepy dog at an inopportune moment.I get that Ana is freewheeling and all, but does she have to hook up with her lovers while at lawn parties with her husband?If I were a person in this small town, I’d wonder why these weird married people were constantly bringing their drama to parties.Okay, the dead body is Jacob Elordi, and Ana naturally accuses her husband of his murder to the cops, as you do.Ben gaslights the hell out of Ana, but the weird pretentious writer from earlier believes her.Meanwhile, Ben is getting a little too cozy with his blonde wife, who looks familiar, but I don’t feel like IMDB-ing.The pretentious writer and Ana are teaming up with a P.I. to prove Ben is a murderer, and Ben calls him on it at a nice-looking lunch featuring several bottles of natural wine I want.Why are the daughters in this movie all named Goldie and Trixie? Mad Men again!Yet another lover of Ana’s (I assume?) comes through, this one her ex-boyfriend, and Ben...legit kills him?So they’re just getting right to it, huh?Things chill out for Ana and Ben after the murder (LOL), until the pretentious writer catches Ben messing with the ex-B.F.’s corpse. Some mom is appalled.OMG, Ana is sneaking off with an unseen blond person, and at this point I can’t determine their gender because I can’t see their face, so I’m choosing to believe this movie is queer for the moment.Ben talks to a woman with (to be crass) a great set about how he loves his wife, but clearly there’s trouble brewing.Ana is playing the piano and singing, in a true “Zou Bisou Bisou” moment.Never sing in public! They got a pet, which is always a good idea when you have a small child and your marriage is on the rocks.Ana taunts Ben about all her affairs, and he issues an ultimatum. Make a chore wheel!The word emasculate is being used a lot and not entirely correctly.Ben and Ana meet a pretentious writer at a party (Tracy Letts!), and we learn that Ben does...“web apps” and “publishes a small magazine” but mostly rides his bike around. He’s Ana’s latest prey, and he too plays the piano because we’re in a very musical town.I am incredibly bored and, to be honest, have no idea what’s going on in this movie. Personally, I consider it an honor and a privilege to share my thoughts about the film with the world on a minute-by-minute basis; read them all below.Did I confuse this with the Matt Damon film Stillwater? Maybe.Does Deep Water also sound like it could be the name of a bespoke Colorado-based river-rafting-guide company? Save this story for later.Note: This story contains spoilers for the 2022 film Deep Water.There were no bigger fans of Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas’s relationship than Vogue’s web staff, so when we learned that the pair’s “erotic psychological thriller” Deep Water (based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, no less!) was finally dropping, we were immediately spellbound. Not to make gender assumptions, but he doesn’t care, girl.Ben and Ana are at a boring-looking house party, explaining that they let their six-year-old choose to go to public school. Yes.I must say, Affleck does look good in bike shorts.No offense to this film, but I wish I were rewatching Gone Girl. All the ingredients are there: Ben Affleck, dark score, unhappy wife.Why do wives persist in asking for their husbands’ opinions on their date-night oufits? Skip to main contentTo revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories57 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas in Deep WaterSave this story for later.