Review: 'Deep Water' neither thriller nor erotic, sinks hard

J. Kim Murphy Tracy Letts seems to have no regrets in being involved with “Deep Water,” Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas’ erotic thriller that left many viewers bewildered when it premiered on Hulu in the U.S. on March 18.

Johnny Depp, 58, is getting ready to face off in court against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, 35 — who he’s suing for $50 million in a defamation lawsuit that claims that Amber “destroyed” his career by penning an article in The Washington Post in 2018 about being a survivor of “sexual violence.” In court documents obtained by HollywoodLife, the jilted exes listed in their Exhibit List a text message conversation from 2013 between Johnny and his friend, actor Paul Bettany, 50. In the texts, the two actors discuss “drowning” Amber to ensure that she is “not a witch” — and their private messages are now set to be read out loud during the trial. The trial set to begin on April 11, 2022, in Fairfax County, Virginia.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Johnny Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, can argue to a jury that she should be protected from a libel lawsuit because her 2018 op-ed on domestic violence deals with a matter of public interest, a judge ruled Thursday.Depp sued Heard for libel in Virginia after The Washington Post published her opinion piece.

New Zealand-born Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik might be on the precipice of a banner year. His long-awaited Marilyn Monroe film starring Ana de Armas, “Blonde,” just received an NC-17 rating from the Film Ratings board, something of a first for Netflix, and should make its world premiere later this year (likely Venice, since Netflix avoids Cannes).

William Earl Hulu’s buzzy new erotic thriller “Deep Water” debuted on March 18 and has been trending on Twitter ever since, thanks to a bizarre plot that feels like chunks were left on the cutting room floor, as well as the sultry performances of one-time real-life couple Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. But what makes this movie special are the bizarrely specific choices made along the way, from jaw-dropping lapses in judgement to a singular obsession with snails.

From book to screen! Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas briefly found love on the set of Deep Water, the 2022 film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1957 novel about a mysterious married couple.

Major spoilers for “Deep Water” follow; if you haven’t watched yet turn back now!In broad strokes, “Deep Water,” based on a novel of the same name by “The Talented Mr. Ripley” author Patricia Highsmith, centers on the marriage of Vic Van Allen (Affleck) and his much younger wife Melinda (de Armas). He made an ungodly amount of money designing microchips that allow for drone technology to work.

“Deep Water,” he found the process of filming sex scenes had changed significantly.The new 20th Century Studios film, which debuted on Hulu on Friday, is a sexually charged dramatic thriller starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as a married couple. But in an interview with Collider, Lyne got candid about his philosophy when it comes to shooting sex scenes.“You feel like you’re doing it with them. Even with the sex scenes, I’m a little bit like a cheerleader,” Lyne told Collider about his directorial process during intimate sequences.

There likely won’t be a red carpet rolled out in front of the Fairfax County courthouse, but some big names are coming to Johnny Depp’s now $100 million defamation battle with ex-wife Amber Heard when the long delayed trial starts next month.

“Deep Water” has arrived. The long-delayed erotic thriller, which was shot back in 2019, is finally getting released, much to the delight of fans of Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck.The two star in the film as an unhappily married couple whose relationship hits even rockier waters when the wife’s lovers keep going missing, and the husband becomes the primary suspect.Based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name, the film marks “Fatal Attraction” and “Flashdance” director Adrian Lyne’s first film in 20 years, following the release of another erotic thriller: “Unfaithful.”But many may be wondering, how can you watch “Deep Water?” Everything you need to know is below.“Deep Water” was released on March 18.“Deep Water” is being released on streaming, and the only way to watch it is on Hulu with a subscription.

Zack Sharf The erotic drama is back with the release of “Deep Water,” the Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas-starring thriller that marks the long-awaited directorial return of Adrian Lyne. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker is a master of the erotic thriller, having directed some of the most acclaimed and/or profitable erotic dramas of all time with the likes of “9½ Weeks,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Indecent Proposal” and “Unfaithful.” Lyne was nominated for best director at the Oscars thanks to “Fatal Attraction,” while “Unfaithful” earned Diane Lane an Oscar nomination for best actress.With “Deep Water” now streaming, Variety is rounding up the other erotic dramas now available on Hulu, Prime Video, Netflix and more platforms.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThere’s something missing from Adrian Lyne’s “Deep Water,” and it’s not just the body of Martin McRae, the last unfortunate rival to get a little too friendly with Vic Van Allen’s wife. Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas) have an open marriage, but her … distractions have a habit of disappearing, and so do pretty much all ties to recognizable human behavior in the “Fatal Attaction” director’s unexpectedly cool-headed adaptation of the 1957 Patricia Highsmith novel for Hulu.

lot of spying.During a casual chat with Melinda’s current dalliance, Joel (Brendan C. Miller, TNT’s “Animal Kingdom”), Vic informs the young man that his predecessor, presumed missing, is actually dead.

The novels of Patricia Highsmith are a gift to filmmakers. Murderous levels of desire and jealousy simmer in protagonists, often criminals or outsiders, whose calculating observations power page after page in a slow burn towards a dreadful denouement.

Manori Ravindran International EditorAmar Chadha-Patel has been cast in Gareth Edwards’ forthcoming sci-fi pic “True Love.”The up-and-coming British actor will appear as multiple characters that are called “Simulants” in the movie, and include Satra, Sergeant Bui and Inspector Omni. Details about the film are still being kept under lock and key, and all that’s known is that it’s set in the near future.

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.MOVIES— Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas play a picture-perfect couple prone to playing mind games in “Deep Water,” an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel directed by Adrian Lyne. The film has been a subject of much intrigue and anticipation thanks in part to its stars' short-lived relationship that was feverishly covered in the tabloids as well as its rocky release plans.

The trailer for Ben Affleck‘s highly-anticipated (and long-postponed) erotic thriller with ex-girlfriend Ana de Armas, Deep Water, is finally here, and it’s everything that could have been expected and more. But with the steamy trailer serving as a reminder of Ben and Ana’s real-life romance, how does Ben’s current love Jennifer Lopez feel? HollywoodLife learned EXCLUSIVELY from a source close to Jen her true thoughts on the film, and whether or not she’ll watch.

“WeCrashed”Friday, March 18, AppleTV+If you haven’t had your fill of starry prestige dramas based on real-life con artists (after “Inventing Anna” and “The Dropout,” among others), then have we got a starry prestige drama based on a real-life con artist! In this case, it’s “WeCrashed,” focusing on Adam Neumann (played by Jared Leto) and his wife Rebekah (Anne Hathaway), a pair of kooks who sold WeWork as the next great advancement in office culture and then screwed it up almost beyond repair. It’s always fun to watch Leto do his extreme Method shtick (this time dying his hair, wearing prosthetics and affecting an exaggerated Israeli accent) and the story is as fascinating as it is well-documented (last year, the company was the subject of a terrific Hulu documentary, “WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn”).

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, is set to debut on Hulu on March 18, and only ET has an exclusive sneak peek at the film — in which the former real-life couple play a toxic married pair, whose mind games continue to escalate until there are deadly consequences for those around them.ET's sneak peek sees Vic (Affleck) and Melinda (de Armas) sitting down to dinner with a guest — whose discomfort grows throughout the scene as the couple intentionally push each other's buttons.First, Melinda asks for a bite of their guest's grilled cheese, insisting she doesn't like lobster bisque, which is what Vic cooked for them.«Melinda kind of has the palate of a 12-year-old,» Vic sneers at his wife. «Our first date, I took her to the best restaurant in the city, she ordered mac and cheese.»«It's like he was ashamed to be with me,» Melinda says to their guest, to which Vic snipes back, «No, I just realized you were ordering off the children's menu to save more room for alcohol.»Later, when his wife tells him that she wishes «all the time» that he were more normal, Vic addresses the elephant in the room: «If I were normal, I don't think Joel would be over here having dinner with us.»See the full clip above.