The Deep End of the Ocean dvd movie.|
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List Price: $14.94 Our Price: $12.99 You Save: $1.95 Features • Anamorphic • Closed-captioned • Color • Dolby • DVD-Video • Full Screen • Widescreen • NTSC In Theaters : 12 March, 1999 DVD Release : 10 August, 1999 |
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The Deep End of the Ocean description Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer) is at her high school reunion when her 3-year-old son disappears from his brother's care. The little boy never turns up, and the family has to deal with the devastating guilt and grief that goes along with it. Nine years later, the family has relocated to Chicago. By a sheer fluke, the kid turns up, living no more than two blocks away. The authorities swoop down and return the kid to his biological parents, but things are far from being that simple. The boy grew up around what he has called his father, while his new family are strangers to him; the older son, now a teenager, has brushes with the law and behavioral problems. His adjustment to his lost brother is complicated by normal teenage churlishness, and the dad (Treat Williams) seems to expect everything to fall into place as though the family had been intact all along. It's a tightrope routine for actors in a story like this, being careful not to chew the scenery while at the same time not being too flaccid or understated. For the most part, the members of the cast deal well with the emotional complexity of their roles. Though the story stretches credulity, weirder things do happen in the real world. The family's pain for the first half of the film is certainly credible, though the second half almost seems like a different movie. Whoopi Goldberg plays the detective assigned to the case; casting her is a bit of a stretch, but she makes it work. All in all, a decent three-hanky movie in the vein of Ordinary People. --Jerry Renshaw |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | A decent adaptation of an okay book |
| "The Deep End of the Ocean" is based on Jacquelyn Mitchard's best-selling novel. It's the story of a busy mother, Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer), whose son Ben is kidnapped at the age of three. Nine years later, Ben is found and is reunited with his family, but he doesn't have much interest in getting to know them and is resentful about being yanked out of his old life.
I enjoyed this movie. It's pretty true to the novel, and the few things that were changed for the film aren't all that important. I think the biggest difference between the book and the movie is that the character of Beth is much more toned-down and sympathetic on the big screen than she is on paper. Mitchard's version of the character is more interesting and complex, but I can see why the producers probably thought it wouldn't do well on the big screen. Pfeiffer delivers a strong performance, as does Jonathan Jackson, who plays the oldest Cappadora son, Vincent. The only casting decision that left me puzzled is Whoopi Goldberg, who is probably the last person on earth I would have picked to play Detective Candy Bliss, but oh well. Bottom line: This is a good, solid film. Not great, but very good. The story is about as unrealistic as you can get and I think the ending is way too optimistic, but stranger things have been known to happen in this world. |
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