The thriller genre is getting a new entry in 2022 with the Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas movie Deep Water. Adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel and from a director who made his calling card with these kinds of sexy thrillers, the ingredients for Deep Water are certainly intriguing.
Here is everything that we know about Deep Water.
Deep Water release date
Deep Water has been in development for many years and has had an adventure getting onto the big screen. There were plans to have the movie ready as early as 2020, but delays ultimately positioned it for a Jan. 14, 2022, in theaters. However, it was announced in December 2021 that Deep Water would premiere exclusively on streaming services — Hulu in the US and Prime Video abroad — after it had been pulled from the theatrical release calendar.
That was the how, but we now know the when as well, as Deep Water has been set to make its streaming premiere in both the US and UK on March 18.
Deep Water Trailer
The official trailer for Deep Water is here, featuring some razor sharp tension between Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas' married couple. As the trailer says, "the love story is never the whole story." Watch the Deep Water trailer directly below:
There was also a previous Deep Water teaser trailer that previews the dynamic of Affleck and de Armas in the movie.
Deep Water reviews
The reviews for Deep Water have started to come in, but critics aren't getting too hot and steamy for the Affleck/de Armas erotic thriller. As of March 18, Deep Water is has a 39% "rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes, while it is faring a bit better on Metacritic, earning a 51, which classifies it as "mixed."
Some snippets from reviews:
"After a dangerous, ever personal, first half, Deep Water becomes crude in all the wrong ways." — Chuck Bowen, Slant (50/100)
"In 2022 it's a true gift seeing a film so unafraid of being as lurid, provocative and unabashedly horny as Deep Water." — Mitchell Beaupre, The Film Stage (91/100)
"Despite his erotic thriller credentials, Lynne makes a tepid return to the director's chair with a rather basic adaptation of an intriguing marital character study that Affleck struggles to enlive." — Hanna Flint, Empire (40/100)
Deep Water plot
Deep Water is a Patricia Highsmith novel that was originally published in 1957 as a psychological thriller, the story follows Vic and Melinda Van Allen. Here is the official synopsis for the movie:
"Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas star as Vic and Melinda Van Allen, an affluent New Orleans couple whose marriage is crumbling under the weight of resentment, jealousy, and mistrust. As their mutual provocations and mind games escalate, things quickly turn into a deadly game of cat and mouse as Melinda’s extramarital dalliances start going missing."
Highsmith’s work has been memorably used for movies before. She is the author behind Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, The Price of Salt (adapted into 2015’s Carol), The Two Faces of January and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas in Deep Water
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are set to star in Deep Water as Vic and Melinda Van Allen. It’s a fun bit of casting because Affleck and de Armas began dating around the time they were filming the movie. The pair have split, but it will still be intriguing to see how their chemistry together is on screen.
Of course, aside from their personal relationship, Affleck and de Armas have been doing great work in recent years. Affleck has been seeing his acting career find new heights with acclaimed performances in 2020’s The Way Back and 2021’s The Last Duel and The Tender Bar. For de Armas, she has broken out in a big way thanks to blockbuster films like Knives Out and No Time to Die.
Deep Water cast
While Affleck and de Armas will serve as the central couple, the rest of Deep Water’s cast is a strong group of actors, including the likes of Tracy Lettes, Lil Rey Howry, Rachel Blanchard, Finn Wittrock, Euphoria's Jacob Elordi and more.
Here is the main cast list:
- Ben Affleck - Vic Van Allen
- Ana de Armas - Melinda Van Allen
- Tracy Letts - Lionel
- Rachel Blanchard - Maggie
- Lil Rel Howery - Nash
- Finn Wittrock - Dom
- Jacob Elordi - Terry
- Dash Mihok - Arthur
- Kristen Connelly - Jackie
- Jade Fernandez - Evelyn Cowan
Deep Water director
Deep Water is probably hoping to be the kind of sexy, psychological thrillers that were big hits in the late 20th century and early 2000s. They have the perfect director to try and reach that goal — Adrian Lyne.
Lyne is an Oscar-nominated director whose credits include Flashdance, 9 ½ weeks, Fatal Attraction (for which he received his Oscar nomination for Best Director), Indecent Proposal and Unfaithful.
Deep Water marks a comeback for Lyne, as the movie will be his first since 2002’s Unfaithful.
