Deep Water End Explained (in detail)

The psychological thriller Deep waters The ending explains that Vic and Melinda’s dangerous mind games may not be over. Directed by Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Wrong offer), Deep water is a twisted tale of the seemingly loveless marriage between Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda Van Allen (Ana de Armas). Adapted from the 1957 novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, Hulu’s Deep water Craft a new ending to the story that adds more complex nuances to the characters’ high-stakes romance.

Deep waterTold primarily from Vic’s perspective, it follows the manipulative couple as they raise their six-year-old daughter in a tight-knit community where gossip spreads like wildfire. Since Vic lacks a certain passion that Melinda seeks, the couple enters into an agreement where Melinda is allowed to take lovers as long as she does not break up their family. Deep water Watch the couple’s arrangement take a twist when Vic begins to crack. At the end of Deep waterSeveral people connected to Vic and Melinda’s romantic entanglements die, with the final act cementing the twisted dynamic between the main couple.

What happens at the end of deep water

Murder brings Vic and Melinda closer

Deep water Ends with Vic and Melinda feeling more passionate about their marriage, albeit after he killed two of her lovers in cold blood. Although Melinda is certain that Vic killed her lover, Charlie, she becomes more attracted to him and does not immediately accuse him of involvement when she has not heard from her latest paramour, Tony.

After a picnic with Melinda and Trixie, Vic returns to the river to better hide Tony’s body, only for Melinda to find Tony’s wallet in a box of Vic’s snails. Melinda calls Don, a neighbor who suspects Vic of killing Charlie. Don finally confronts Vic at the gorge. After seeing Vic moving Tony’s body, Don drives his car to tell the police, with Vic hopping on his bike to stop him. When Vic rides his bike in the direct path of Don’s car, Don swerves off the road, falling to his death when he drives off a cliff.

At home, Trixie sees that Melinda has packed a suitcase, so she throws it in the sink and tells Melinda that they are not leaving. When Vic returns home, he finds Melinda sitting on the stairs with a small smile on her face, only for the movie to cut to her burning all of Tony’s licenses that she found with Vic’s snails. At the end of Deep waterAll is well for their marriage.

Why Vic lies to Joel about killing Martin McCrae

The seemingly edgy-yet-innocent quip is a worrying sign of what’s to come

deep water s Real drama begins when Vic confronts Melinda’s lover, Joel, at a party. Vic tells him he killed Martin McRae, Melinda’s last lover who went missing, to scare Joel away. Most people take Vic’s statement as a joke, although it successfully scares Joel and leaves screenwriter Don increasingly suspicious. Vic tells Melinda it’s an innocent joke after she gets angry, however Deep water Hints that malignancy lies beneath Vic’s seemingly casual demeanor.

later in Deep waterIt is revealed Vic did not kill McCrae. He told Joel that he killed him with a hammer when he was actually killed with a gun, and the real killer was caught. While Vic and his friends maintain that his lie about killing Martin McRae is just a joke, it is really the beginning of Vic’s anger and jealousy boiling over the surface.

Since Vic killed two of Melinda’s lovers, telling this lie seems to be a mistake, because he becomes the first suspect when Charlie and Tony turn up dead or missing. In fact, it appears that Vic is bored with his indifference to Melinda’s affairs, but the rush of finally standing up to one of Melinda’s lovers fuels a passion in their marriage he has not felt in a long time. Vic knows that he can get away with it, because no one feels that he is capable of such a thing.

How Trixie knows Vic killed Charlie

Vic and Melinda’s daughter is incredibly surprising

One of the most mysterious Deep water The character is Trixie Van Allen, Vic and Melinda’s 6-year-old daughter. It is established that she is more intelligent and mature than her age suggests, with Deep waterScene with Trixie and Vic discussing Charlie’s death hinting she knows a lot more about her parents’ wedding than they’re letting on. After Charlie dies and Vic is the prime suspect, Trixie tells her father she thinks it was he who killed Melinda’s lover. Vic says he didn’t, but Trixie thinks she thinks he killed Charlie, even though she’s just upset that he won’t tell her how he killed him.

at the end of Deep waterTrixie throws Melinda’s packed suitcase into the pool and says they’re not leaving, suggesting Trixie really knows everything that’s going on but still wants her family to stay together. Since Trixie and Vic are much closer than Trixie and Melinda, it seems Deep waters young character supports what Vic is doing, because she is just as fed up with Melinda’s affairs as Vic is.

Why Melinda helped cover up Tony’s murder

Vic’s actions made Melinda value her family much more than before

Although Melinda tips Don about Vic having something to do with Tony’s disappearance, Deep waterIn the end Melinda burns his licenses just moments later. This occurs after Trixie throws Melinda’s suitcase in the pool and tells her they are not leaving, suggesting Melinda now sees that keeping her family together is more important. Melinda spent Deep water Claims that Vic has no passion and doesn’t even love her, but his violent urges to her two lovers restore the spark in their marriage.

Melinda repeatedly tells Vic that she loves him, although his inability to convince to return the sentiment sends her wandering – until she realizes that killing and threatening people is his sick way of showing love. Melinda was completely bored with their marriage, however Vic’s unhinged behavior proved that he was no longer boring to her. At the same time, Melinda just asked Vic why he was the only one who stayed with her, suggesting that even though his passion was demonstrated by killing, he would do anything to stay with her, so she returned the gesture by helping cover up Tony’s death.

What’s next for Melinda and Vic after deep water

The couple in deep water are destined for a deadly but passionate marriage

Melinda and Vic’s toxic marriage sees the deaths of at least three people in their town, however Deep water Ends with their relationship stronger than ever. Since Don was unable to text Kelly about his rights regarding Vic before he died, there is no one besides Vic, Melinda, and Trixie who can provide evidence that Vic killed anyone.

With Melinda choosing to keep their family together, the couple returns to their masks as a typical suburban couple. It is unclear whether their marriage continues to see more lovers or murders, however Melinda and Vic’s return passion hints that they will continue to play twisted mind games As long as it keeps their family together.

What the end of deep water really means

The main theme of the movie is about the lengths some couples go to for a functional marriage

Deep waterThe roller-coaster ride of a story is about the facades suburban couples put on after being bored in their marriages, and the lengths they may go to stay together and maintain their “picture-perfect” charade. This is an extreme example of this phenomenon but takes from many real-life marital struggles around infidelity, maintaining a family and reduced passion over time.

The uncertainty of Vic’s Kill Count and the larger story portrays the idea that every relationship looks different than those in them, because the projection of Vic’s mild-mannered, casual persona is really a mask he puts on when, in reality, he is A ticking time bomb of anger and violence. finally, Deep water is a twisted tale of ​​a toxic marriage in which they finally prove their love, renew their passion and reach a climactic, unifying agreement in which the heart couple is complicit in each other’s immorality: Vic through Melinda’s infidelity, and Melinda by Vic’s murder.

Although the majority of Adrian Lyne’s erotic thrillers end in madness, concluding once the couple are closer together or resolve their conflict, Deep waterThe end gives a different explanation. The Deep water The ending suggests Vic and Melinda’s back-and-forth turmoil will continue, and it makes them a stronger couple through their complicity.

What the deep water ending song means

The song Trixie Singh has sinister undertones

Deep waterThe soundtrack takes a sinister turn in its conclusion. At the end of the movie, Trixie is shown singing the song “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” by Leo Sawyer. While it may seem like a sweet moment when a six-year-old sings the tune, it’s actually a rather sinister way to wrap up the film. Throughout the movie, both Vic and Melinda continue to make increasingly dangerous choices at each other’s expense. What is worse is that their young daughter is aware of everything that is happening in their relationship, including Melinda’s affairs and Vic’s murder.

Trixie sees what’s going on between her parents, as they barely try to hide their dirty choices. Rather than being repulsed by her parents, which makes Deep waterWhat’s ultimately disturbing is that Trixie loves them nonetheless, identifies with the family, and even chooses understanding when singing “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.” The song is about complete romantic devotion. This tune not only represents Trixie’s relationship with her parents but also Melinda and Vic’s relationship. In fact, the song is representative of the family as a whole.

Vic is driven to kill for the sake of jealousy as Melinda continues her mounting list of affairs. When Melinda finds out about Vic’s actions, rather than being horrified or afraid, she claims that she is not afraid of him because he did the killing “for her.” In the end, Melinda helps Vic cover up his crimes, and she does so out of sheer devotion.

Trixie and Vic have a more meaningful relationship than she does with her mother, which may play a part in how she has a similar reaction to Melinda upon the revelation of Vic’s murder. The only thing she’s mad at is that he wouldn’t say how he did it. The family chooses to stay together out of the sick codependent love they share for one another.

Changes in Deep Water book to movie

Melinda does not survive in the Deep Water novel

The Deep water The end explains that the toxic relationship became stronger the more corrupt the couple became. However, that was only about the movie, and the book had a very different ending. In the novel, the murders and dishonesty do not lead to a better relationship between Vic and Melinda. This is because the two work to keep their family intact in both, but in the movie, they seem to really like each other and Vic loves Melinda.

However, in this book, they actively despise each other. While Melinda often makes sexual advances on Vic, often in a domineering fashion, this is non-existent in the book. Vic considers his wife to be selfish and incompetent, and who only seeks attention in any way possible. This leads to a very different ending in the Deep water book.

Vic does not love Melinda, and he is not killing these people “for her.” Vic lives his life in emasculation, and after he realizes that Melinda knows what he has done, he takes one last drastic measure. in the Deep water In the book, Melinda is not going to cover for him like she does in the movie, which causes Vic to commit one more murder as he strangles Melinda to death at the end. He also doesn’t kill Don, who comes with the police to arrest Vic. In this movie, no one is punished, but in the Deep water In the book, Melinda pays with her life and Vic goes to prison.

How the ending of Deep Water compares to Adrian Lyne’s other endings

The director of Deep Water is known for mixing death and infidelity

Deep water Director Adrian Lynn is known for movies about couples entering into twisted arrangements, incredibly unconventional relationships and romances, and movies where the central characters have an ever-loosening grip on their sanity. With that in mind, Deep water is almost a textbook Adrian Lynn movie (and his first in two decades after 2002’s not loyal). But, while Deep water Shares many similarities to Adrian Lyne’s other films, it also deviates from them.

One of the clearest comparisons to Deep water Is 1987s fatal attractions, A psychological thriller that has become a cult classic. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close starred in the film, which sees Douglas as Dan Gallagher, a lawyer having an affair with Close’s Alex Forrest. However, while Dan sees this brief spark of romance as a fling, Alex does not. She descends into increasingly stalker-like behavior, including kidnapping Dan’s daughter and breaking into their family home.

Fatal Attraction Mix murder and adultery just like that Deep water. A key similarity is also that murder brings a married couple closer, although in this case it is because both Dan and his wife, Beth (Annie Archer), must eventually kill Alex in self-defense. It’s a different take on similar themes – While the psychotic behavior in Deep water becomes integral to the main couple’s relationship, in Fatal Attraction This is the fear of the same kind of unstable personality that cemented a previously troubled marriage.

Another Adrian Lynne movie that resembles Deep water is the 2002 erotic thriller Not faithful. Not faithful It stars Richard Gere, Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez, and the plot has some strong similarities to Deep water. As the title says, Not faithful Also deals with adultery, with Diane Lane’s Connie cheating on Gere’s Edward with Martinez’s Paul. Edward, like Ben Affleck’s Vic In deep water, Reacts violently to his wife’s infidelity, although it is not a premeditated act.

Edward kills Paul in Not faithful In a fit of rage. He also confesses to Connie that he initially wanted to kill her, and not her lover, but his emotions got the better of him. This is a key difference too deep water, Despite the similarities in the plot. what’s more, While Connie in Not faithful Eventually deciding to help Edward cover up for his crimes, the movie ends with the insinuation that Edward is going to turn himself in. This is a stark difference from Vic and Melinda in deep water, who show more or less no guilt for the deaths they caused, and instead use them as a catalyst for a new spark in their marriage.

As the end water is obtained

The final moments of the erotic thriller proved divisive

Deep water Now sitting with a 32% critical score and 24% audience score Rotten tomatoesWhich gives a good snapshot of the less-than-positive reception to director Adrian Lyne’s 2022 erotic thriller. The Deep water The ending also considered this, and there were various reasons that professional reviewers and casual audience members were confused by the climax.

A common criticism of the Deep water Ending comes paired with a complaint about the opening. Many felt that Deep water showed its hand too early, leaving no substantial narrative moments for the finale. Deep water Has the tone of a mystery thriller, but it lays all its cards on the table early in the plot. Viewers felt there would be a big twist or reveal by the end, but of course, there wasn’t. While the ending was rich in thematic depth, it doesn’t contain a big reveal or shocking moment that repositions the film when watched a second time.

The other criticism of the ending of Deep water was the lack of a satisfactory composure for any of its characters. Almost none of these Deep water You can tell that the characters are likeable, and all of them act suspiciously throughout the movie. This is where the changes to the book didn’t work in the movies, as the story felt much more coherent with Melinda’s murder and Vic’s incarceration. The end of the US Deep water The movie was nowhere near as concrete or definitive, and simply seemed to suggest that the toxic couple would continue in the same manner.

However, there were some positive responses to the ending of Deep water too. For example, critic Natalia Keogan, writing for paste, Saw the lack of payback for characters like Melinda in the Deep water Ending as a decision designed to shock viewers, hailed as one of the film’s strengths:

The audience isn’t sure just who or what to believe – making the film’s tragic ending even more jaw-dropping.