Cheap The Deep End of the Ocean (DVD) (Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg) (Ulu Grosbard) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Deep End of the Ocean

On her way to her high school reunion, Beth Cappadora is told by her husband that if her head wasn't attached to her, she would lose it quickly. This provides a short laugh, while also setting up what is to come. At the reunion, she leaves her three-year-old son Ben in the care of his older brother Vincent, only to come back moments later and realize that he is gone. Hysterics grow, and after a thorough search of the building, he is nowhere to be found. Surrounded by family and friends, Beth begins to cope with her mistake as the community gets involved in the search for Ben, without success. Resigned to the fact that he will never be found, she returns home, and while the first steps to coping with what has happened are rocky, the family seems to be getting along well after the passage of nine years. They have moved to a new house in a new town, her husband has the restaurant he always wanted... A knock on the door turns everything upside down. Beth immediately recognizes the boy as her son, and is relieved and confused that he lives only two blocks away from their new residence. The authorities get involved, and soon Ben is taken from the only home he can remember and placed in a new and somewhat emotionally frightening setting where he is called by a name he does not know and lives with people he does not remember or feel much for.

What makes this movie work for me is the complexity of the story as well as the characters, and the magnificence in which the two blend together. The first part of the story admittedly is the more believable of the two, diving into the emotions of the family as they must cope with the grief of the missing Ben. Beth's reaction to her son's disappearance is superbly acted out by Michelle Pheiffer, who carries it like she's been through it in reality. The first half of the movie shows her dealing with the pain in the only way she knows how: shutting everyone else out, ignoring the optimism of life that is to be explored. This causes her to become somewhat distanced from her husband, played by Treat Williams, and her oldest son, who feels the great weight of responsibility set in when he must take care of his little sister while his parents argue.

The second half of the movie is the more emotional of the two, however, as the family, who is just beginning to enjoy life, find their son and bring him back home. There is an unmistakable truth in what occurs emotionally between the two brothers, Vincent and Ben, who goes by Sam. Vincent, who has just begun to gain the attention he never got from his parents, feels threatened by the presence of Ben, and does everything he can to make his long-lost sibling feel unwelcome. This, accompanied by the emotional baggage toted by the family in their struggle to be happy together all conspire to make the movie more heartfelt, warming and true.

Some of the best acting talent ever has gone into the making of this movie, which is heavily called for considering the amount of emotion that needs to be conveyed to the audience. Michelle Pheiffer is Beth Cappadora, and in this role, she is literally required to become her character. She does this with superb talent, playing Beth as an overall emotional person with a strong will hidden beneath her sorrows. Treat Williams makes the perfect supportive husband, as well as a father who just wants things to be like he always imagined for his family. Ben's return has a big effect on him, and when he puts his foot down about what the family does together, the acting is nothing short of amazing. Jackson does a great job in playing the older brother Vincent, as well as the wild-child teenager who gets into a lot of trouble. Whoopi Goldberg seems like a stretch as the detective working the case, but she works the camera as well with her serious demeanor.

Complexity and integrity are what make a movie worth watching, and "The Deep End of the Ocean" has all of this and more. The fact that the plot is basically two parts should not be a deference from the film; believe me, the story rolls right along. Dynamic performances and highly likeable characters also add to the film's appeal. What more can you ask for?

The Deep Movie Isle
Beth (Pfeiffer) and Patrick (Williams) Cappadora are a happy, ordinary family, with 2 young sons, until one day, in a busy hotel lobby, every parent's worse nightmare happens, one of them, Ben, the youngest, disappears. The loss of their 3-year-old shatters Beth and Patrick, and so they move away to another town to separate themselves from their grief. Nine years later, they finally move back, only to discover their son, now 12, living in the town with the people who kidnapped him all those years ago. The film follows the intricate family drama that ensues when the Cappadora re-unites.

not predictable
Very good movie. Kid is stolen, Mom goes crazy, family becomes a mess. Kid is found but its all unpredictable. Rent it and see how the story unfolds.