Some things I liked some I did not.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

After the earthy Neo-Noir Coup de torchon exceeded all my expectations,I decided to see if lead actress Isabelle Huppert made any other titles in 1981. Always looking out for Patricia Highsmith adaptation since seeing The Talented Mr.Ripley in the early 2000's,I was thrilled to stumble on an adaptation with Huppert,which led to me dipping into the pool.The plot:Nearing their 8th wedding anniversary, Vic Allen nonchalantly accepts the "open" state of his younger wife Melanie's side of the marriage. Bringing any guy back home who takes her fancy,Vic watches on as Melanie gets close to each new lover. Wanting to "joke" around with the guys,Vic tells them a story about how he one time killed a former lover of Melanie. Seeing little point in keeping the marriage going,Melanie starts making divorce plans so that she can get together with her new lover. Fearing that Melanie is about to leave,Vic pushes his previously nonchalant side over the deep end.View on the film:Drawing every guy with her gaze, Isabelle Huppert gives an entrancing performance as Melanie,whose flirting Huppert gives a relaxed nature to,which Huppert sharply balances by giving Melanie icy, Femme Fatale nails that scratch at Vic's attempt to stop Melanie getting her "toy." Watching his wife make out, Jean-Louis Trintignant gives a wonderful performance as Vic,who initially acts just a bit too friendly towards everyone. Keeping the anxiety in the marriage simmering away, Trintignant shatters Vic's calm with a calculating Noir loner manner that uncoils as Vic gets Melanie's lovers in his grasp.Backed by a deliciously brash Jazz score,co-writer/(with Florence Delay and Christopher Frank) director Michel Deville & cinematographer Claude Lecomte whirl Film Noir chic with the dazzling style of the Giallo. While Vic and Melanie hit a dark stage in their marriage, Deville lashes the screen in vibrant reds and Giallo yellow that give the title a sweet pulp atmosphere. Cracking the relaxed shell of Vic, Deville hits the screen with ultra- stylised,scatter-shot whip-pans and razor sharp editing stabbing the murderous calculations Vic has made.Swimming in Patricia Highsmith's novel,the screenplay by Delay/ Frank/Deville cleverly give the couple a "free love" appearance for the opening,which subtly pulls the viewers guard down. Slicing into the Noir decay of the marriage,the writers brilliantly burn layer by layer the facade Vic has made Melanie believe,as Vic sets his sights on the designated victim.

EAUX PROFONDES, or Deep Water, is a French film based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. I haven't read that book but I've read some of her other novels and I can safely say that this film is the best version of a Patricia Highsmith novel ever. It perfectly captures her tone and style, unlike the recent crappy version of TALENTED MR RIPLEY. Highsmith herself said she loved this movie. The story is about this "odd" couple. The wife, played by the beautiful Isabelle Hupert, attracts men and brings them to her house, even in front of her husband, played by the not so beautiful Jean-Louis Trintignant. Those men eventually end up dead.What's going with those two? Is Huppert taunting Trintignant's psychotic character? Is Huppert bringing those men for her husband to have "fun" with? Is Huppert the real psycho in this couple, knowing her husband will kill her lovers and she recklessly brings the clueless men to her house? The two are playing a deadly game with each other and men end up dead. The whole thing is never clear and that's why this film is so cool. The aura of mystery is near perfect. Because there's an aura of mystery with these two, the film becomes a pretty sharp and brilliant statement on couples in general.It's sorta like Paul Verhoeven's THE FOURTH MAN, made 3 years after this, but without the usual violence and crudeness fond in Verhoeven's films.EAUX PROFONDES is unlike any film I've seen. It's moody and atmospheric. The music is brilliant (arranged by Charles Dutoit) and the cinematography is beautiful. There's not much more to say. The film is as simple, or not as simple, as it sounds but personally speaking, Huppert and Trintignant make an unforgettable couple. I haven't seen it in a while and I wish they'd release it on DVD.For fans of dark, brooding, sexy films with a "twist" look no further than EAUX PROFONDES.

Deville was the perfect director for such light gallantries such as "Benjamin"(1968).And what about Highsmith? Patricia Highsmith 's books are deceptive:it is hard to adapt them badly for the screen while being harder still to adapt them well.To my eyes ,one director has succeeded :Alfred Hitchcock ("Strangers on a train" ),three have partially succeeded (René Clément "Monsieur Ripley" (the talented M.Ripley) Anthony Minghella (its remake) and Wim Wenders 's "Der Amerikanische Freund " (Ripley's game) .Claude Chabrol was not so successful with "cry of the owl".Claude Miller butchered the brilliant "that sweet sickness" (="Dites lui que je l'aime") "Eaux profondes" is intense psychological drama.The story of a man who is jealous and kills all his wife's lovers.He warns them before .Trintignant,a good choice,tells them so: "I kill them" in a smooth voice .He treats his wife like a big doll,the scene is the bathroom is telling.There was in Highsmith's book an atmosphere ,a terrible progression which led to madness:the film has a tendency to simplify too much and its main drawback is to be too short.When she was interviewed when the movie was released,Highsmith told the journalists she had appreciated the movie.Make up your own mind about it.

Somehow this film manages to be boring and disgusting at the same time. The music is particularly awful - faux baroque/jazz - and violin scratching that is supposed to be suspenseful but is just annoying. As is typical in French movies, it starts out well, with a very interesting premise, interesting characters, good dialogue...and then nothing happens. Well, to be fair, some things do happen, but there is never a sense of direction, of the story going somewhere, or of anything being resolved. I can't blame it all on the French though. It's based on a book by Patricia Highsmith and in her signature style glorifies immorality and sexual/psychological perversity. She also wrote "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Strangers on a Train." Hitchcock was a master filmmaker, and while he kept the evil and the pscyhopathy, he also had the skill to make "Strangers" into a film that is scary and suspenseful, yet with an ending that doesn't repel.This is like watching a cat and mouse game that you couldn't care less about. I'm sorry I wasted an hour and a half on this terrible movie.