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Deep End

Play trailer Poster for Deep End R 1971 1h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Mike (John Moulder-Brown), a 15-year-old bathhouse worker, develops a crush on his older, attractive co-worker, Susan (Jane Asher). At first they help each other secure bigger tips by swapping their respective male and female clients. But their tidy business arrangement is severed when Mike discovers that Susan has not only shunned him, but is cheating on her fiancé with an older swim coach. As Mike begins stalking Susan in an effort to break them up, his innocent crush spirals into obsession.

Critics Reviews

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Michael Atkinson Village Voice 12/13/2011
Skolimowski's Eastern Bloc-existentialist chops finally emerge in the last act, as the futility of looking for a diamond in the snow evolves into a sex-death underwater ballet. Go to Full Review
Jaime N. Christley Slant Magazine 12/12/2011
4/4
Deep End is as soaked in pheromones and nervous electricity as its main character. Go to Full Review
Philip French Guardian 05/08/2011
Made in Munich but set entirely in London, it's a bizarre tail end to the swinging London cycle of the 1960s, centring on a rundown suburban public swimming pool and its adjoining private bathrooms and showers. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia 08/06/2022
7/10
Its proposal, elaborated with color and a certain eroticism, captures with a poetic gaze observations about desire, rebellion and the sexual awakening of London's youth. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Nigel Andrews Monthly Film Bulletin 01/31/2018
Skolimowski allows his characters' dreams total freedom, and within that subjective arena anything can happen. Go to Full Review
Ben Nicholson CineVue 04/12/2016
4/5
Ostensibly a saucy, knockabout swimming pool romp, it develops into a surreal dive into the waters of destructive sexuality. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Shioka O 01/12/2023 Jane Asher. Definitely for kids only at first glance, the story is not Deep, but this another swingin London cult is beautifully filmed and has a mood. I watched the restored version which was colourful and vibrant. See more Mark S 01/03/2023 One of the most overacted, underwritten films I've ever seen. Also just plain kooky, but not in a good Gidget kind of way. It feels like if a drunken candy corn and an angry dog wrote a movie. And I really wanted to like this. Stay for the great images of London in the late 60s. See more William L 08/14/2021 Deep End is a psychological film made compelling by creating a disturbing character very organically - Moulder-Brown's Mike is introduced as a gangly, inexperienced adolescent swept along by the tide of young love (a scenario that feels empathetic and grounded) before twisting his affection into an increasingly paranoid obsessiveness, marked by his complete inability to properly guage the limits of acceptable behavior. It's a neat premise, the horror associated with inexperience; some characters are explicitly taken advantage of for the innocence by those wishing to exploit them, while Mike is inadvertently manipulated into becoming a monster by a combination of a lack of guidance from some and casual manipulation from others. An interesting, eerie soundtrack coupled with some inventive camerawork from Skolimowski (particularly the underwater pool shots, which feel modern even today) make this an unusually dark coming of age film that presents the wide-open possibilities of young adulthood as a terror rather than a period of pure optimism. (3.5/5) See more s r @ScottR 01/27/2021 1001 movies to see before you die. An English coming of age film with some interesting story to go with it. Asher was beautiful. The motivations though were illogical to the point of annoyance. It was on YouTube. See more 05/21/2020 One of the most intellectually fascinating coming-of-age films ever, Deep End presents us with emotionally complex characters going through experiences that feel at once real and fantastic. Appearing to chart new stylistic ground with every scene, Jerzy Skolimowski paints indelible images of adolescence that perfectly capture both its innocence and obsessively focused passions. See more 07/04/2017 Jerzy Skolimowski's social satire is an offbeat delight. See more Read all reviews
Deep End

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Movie Info

Synopsis Mike (John Moulder-Brown), a 15-year-old bathhouse worker, develops a crush on his older, attractive co-worker, Susan (Jane Asher). At first they help each other secure bigger tips by swapping their respective male and female clients. But their tidy business arrangement is severed when Mike discovers that Susan has not only shunned him, but is cheating on her fiancé with an older swim coach. As Mike begins stalking Susan in an effort to break them up, his innocent crush spirals into obsession.
Director
Jerzy Skolimowski
Producer
Helmut Jedele
Screenwriter
Jerzy Skolimowski, J. Gruza, B. Sulik
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Maran Film
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 10, 1971, Limited
Runtime
1h 30m