THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Tom Hiddlestone and Rachel Weisz

New to DVD is Terrence Davies’s film of Terrence Rattigan’s play, THE DEEP BLUE SEA .

On the face of it, THE DEEP BLUE SEA (M) seems terribly old fashioned and an odd choice of film for a 21st century cinema audience.

Based on the play by Terence Rattigan written sixty years ago, it tells the story of Hester, a high society hostess who heaves her husband aside to co-habitate with a raffish RAF pilot shortly after the end of the hostilities of WW II.

Under the deft direction of Terence Davies, Rattigan’s play slow burns across the screen, a simmering experience rather than a boil over, and all the more enthralling for its subtle nuance.

Terry does Terry a treat, bringing in his trademark sing-alongs in public houses and tube stations to help drive the narrative and establish the era.

In what is basically a ménage a trios, a trio of thesps bring the central characters to vivid life.

As the wedded woman wooed by the dashing flying ace, Rachel Weisz continues to collect career accolades, with a winning performance of pluck and vulnerability, a finely judged characterisation of one wounded while capable of wounding.

As the laddish, cadish, former flyboy whose escapades in the sky have been superseded by the somewhat sedate sidewalks of Civvy Street, Tom Hiddleston, awfully good as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, casts a dapper dash as a man trying to find his place in peace time.

As the wronged and wounded husband, Sir William Collyer, Simon Russell Beale is excellent as the baffled cuckold bouncing between vindictive, vengeful and forgiving.

The supporting cast are marvellous with particular kudos to Barbara Jefford as Collyer’s mother – frightening!

Davies use of Samuel Barber’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op14 is inspired. The composer commenced work on the composition on the eve of WWII but did not complete it until a month after Hitler had invaded Poland, plunging Europe into six years of chaos and upheaval. The disruption is clear in the piece and has a disjointed resonance that is perfect for the picture’s soundscape.
It is time , yet again, to give a rat’s about Rattigan.

© Richard Cotter

1st August, 2012

Tags: Sydney Movie Reviews- THE DEEP BLUE SEA, Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter