Moviefone Editorial

Tag: adrian-lyne

  • Movie Review: ‘Deep Water’

    Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck on couch
    (L to R) Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck in Hulu’s ‘Deep Water.’

    Premiering on Hulu beginning March 18th is ‘Fatal Attraction’ director Adrian Lyne’s first new film in twenty years, the erotic thriller ‘Deep Water.’ The movie stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as a married couple whose infidelities lead to several murders.

    The result is a strange and uneven movie that at times is almost entertaining only because it falls into the it’s “so bad it’s good” category, but ultimately is just a hot mess!

    The movie begins by introducing us to Vic Van Allen (Affleck), a computer genius who retired young because he invented the microchip used in drones. His wife, the beautiful and captivating Melinda (de Armas) enjoys parading her affairs with younger men around in front of Vic and their neighbors at their frequent parties in their Louisiana home. Their friends are aware of Melinda’s infidelities, and feel bad for Vic, who seems to just put up with it.

    At one of their parties, where Melinda is showing off a new boyfriend, Vic confronts him and makes a wild confession. He admits that he’s responsible for the recent disappearance of Melinda’s last boyfriend, and then confesses to his murder. The young man, understandably concerned, tells Vic’s confession to the rest of the party, who just laugh it off, believing that Vic is not capable of such a thing. Melinda invites her new lover to dinner with her and Vic to assure him that Vic had nothing to do with the other man’s disappearance, but after dinner, he soon disappears himself.

    Ben Affleck at pool
    Ben Affleck in Hulu’s ‘Deep Water.’

    After an “accident” in the pool during one of their parties leaves Melinda’s piano teacher (who she was having an affair with) dead, aspiring novelist Don Wilson (Tracy Letts), who is new in town begins to investigate. He’s heard the rumors about Melinda’s last two lovers going missing, and believes that Vic not only killed them, but the piano teacher as well.

    Soon after, Melinda reconnects with a man she was in a relationship before she met Vic, Tony Cameron (Finn Wittrock). Melinda and Vic’s usual game begins again, inviting Tony to dinner, and then having Vic watch helplessly while Melinda flirts with him. With Wilson watching his every move, Vic makes one last attempt to save his marriage and cover up the sins of his past.

    ‘Deep Water’ had a very troubled production with several delays and the film ultimately skipping theaters and heading to Hulu. I won’t get in to all of that other than to say, you can tell from watching the movie. It’s an odd film, at times not even feeling completely finished. There are characters, situations, and themes introduced that never get resolved or explained.

    It’s a frustrating movie because I know what director Adrian Lyne set out to do, make an entertaining and exciting erotic thriller like he has so many times before with films like ‘Fatal Attraction,’ ‘Indecent Proposal’ and ‘Unfaithful,’ but those movies were all made over twenty years ago and a lot has changed since then.

    To begin with, the entire conceit of the movie seems outdated, and watching Ben Affleck’s Vic be humiliated by his wife is just not fun for the audience. Nor is it fun to see him killing her lovers for no other crime than infidelity. It actually starts off fairly intriguing, with the audience guessing if Vic is really the killer or not. But once Lyne makes it abundantly clear that he is, any mystery the movie may have had is lost.

    Even though you sympathize with Vic and what he’s going through, he becomes an unlikable character once you realize the truth. Melinda too is an unlikable character, because if you are to care for Vic, then you have to dislike the way she’s treating him. Ultimately, you have now alienated the audience from caring about either of your two main characters.

    Ana de Armas on stairs
    Ana de Armas in Hulu’s ‘Deep Water.’

    I think Ana de Armas is an amazing actress and she has stolen the show in several recent films including ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ ‘Knives Out,’ and ‘No Time to Die.’ But here, the actress’s charm is lost inside this otherwise unlikable, two-dimensional character of Melinda, who is never really elevated past the level of just being the “unfaithful wife.” While it’s never really clear if Melinda is award or not that Vic is killing her boyfriends, the character seems to enjoy at least the idea of it, and is in that way, complicated with her husband’s actions.

    Ben Affleck is a brilliant filmmaker and a better actor than he is often given credit for, and I certainly don’t blame him for this movie’s shortcomings. The script was clearly a mess and I do think the actor tried to something interesting with his character, which ultimately got lost in the production. Affleck’s performance starts off reminiscent of his excellent work in ‘Gone Girl,’ but once it is revealed he is guilty, you no longer want to see him succeed.

    The movie also asks you to put a lot of common sense aside. I’m not sure that people would really react the way they do in this movie in real life if several people in their town went missing and all signs pointed to Vic. Honestly, the pool scene is ridiculous and the fact that Vic wasn’t caught red-handed right then and there is hard to believe. Maybe that is what Lyne was going for, a sort of “will he or won’t he” get caught, but if that’s the case, it wasn’t executed well.

    The supporting cast try their best, but at times actors like Lil Rel Howery and Dash Mihok don’t even seem to know what movie they are in. And poor Tracy Letts! The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and acclaimed actor tried his best to inject some reality into his performance, but eventually gives into the nonsense of the film’s plot and dialogue.

    Adrian Lyne on the set
    Adrian Lyne on the set of Hulu’s ‘Deep Water.’

    I give credit to Adrian Lyne for trying his hand at the genre he practically invented in the 1980s, but with an incoherent script and ridiculous plot, there was not much the filmmaker could do. In the end, Affleck and de Armas both try to make the most of the material, but it’s not enough for the film to be entertaining beyond the level of this is “so bad it’s  good.”

    ‘Deep Water’ receives 1.5 out of 5 stars.

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  • Movie References in The Weeknd’s After Hours You Never Noticed

    Movie References in The Weeknd’s After Hours You Never Noticed

    Since the November 2019 release of the music video “Heartless,” The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye a noted cinephile who has cited David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese as inspirations in the past, has crafted a deep cinematic narrative throughout the video elements of his fourth album After Hours. Along with the lyrical and visual narratives of the album itself, which tracks a man dubbed The Weeknd through a bad break-up, a hard look at his hedonistic lifestyle, and in the end some wistful wisdom as he starts to maybe group up a bit, the videos and live appearances to promote the album are also chock full of cinematic references. Take the title itself: After Hours evokes late night clubs, but from a cinematic point of view it immediately brings up visions of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 cult classic of the same name about a word processor named Paul who takes a late night trip to SoHo in New York City and can’t seem to ever get himself back home.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'After Hours' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘After Hours’ (right)

    Much like Paul, the videos find a man dubbed The Character (played of course by The Weeknd) in an endless journey through the darker parts of himself – and through a myriad of film references.

    “HEARTLESS”

    "Heartless" (left) and 'Casino' (right)
    “Heartless” (left) and ‘Casino’ (right)

    The Weeknd debuted his now signature red suit in the video for “Heartless,” directed by Anton Tammi, which itself is a reference to a suit worn by Robert De Niro in Scorsese’s 1995 film ‘Casino’. The video, shot in Las Vegas, features The Character and a friend (played by Metro Boomin) as they gallivant around Sin City, stumbling in a drug-induced haze like Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He even worked this stumble into his performance at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.

    “BLINDING LIGHTS”

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Blade Runner' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blade Runner’ (right)

    The video for his next single “Blinding Lights,” also directed by Tammi, there are even more film references. We see The Character steal a car and head back to Los Angeles, where, among other things, he dances in the 2nd Street Tunnel. This landmark of Los Angeles has been featured in countless films, including Ridley Scott’s 1982 film ‘Blade Runner.’ An adaptation of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (side note: the author is also referenced in the lyrics of “Snow Child,” with the line “give her Phillip K Dick”), the film is set in Los Angeles in November 2019 – the same month the video was released – and references to it will show up in a later video.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'The Dark Knight' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘The Dark Knight’ (right)

    Much has been made of The Weeknd’s dancing throughout the promotion of After Hours being reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker,’ but in fact these videos are peppered with references to many cinematic Jokers, including the moment in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ where Heath Ledger gleefully hangs his head outside a stolen police car he’s driving.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Blue Velvet' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blue Velvet’ (right)

    Much of the vibe throughout the music videos and live performances for After Hours have a Lynchian feel to them and in “Blinding Lights,” there is a direct reference to David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ where Dennis Hopper’s psychopath Frank Booth watches tormented torch singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) croon the titular song. In “Blinding Lights,” The Character is mesmerized by the musical stylings of an unnamed singer played by Miki Hamano, whose voice literally lifts him off the ground.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Twin Peaks' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Twin Peaks’ (right)

    We even get another hint of the Red Room from ‘Twin Peaks;’ in fact much of the eerie instrumental music that accompanies The Weeknd in the moments between videos and throughout the ‘After Hours’ short film have an Angelo Badalamenti vibe to them.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Joker' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Joker’ (right)

    Perhaps the most obvious reference in the video is his dancing, sometimes in the 2nd Street Tunnel, sometimes elsewhere throughout downtown Los Angeles, appears to be directly lifted from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he dances to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” as he makes his way to make his late night debut in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker.’

    AFTER HOURS short film

    'After Hours' (left) and 'The King of Comedy' (right)
    ‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘The King of Comedy’ (right)

    The After Hours short film, again directed by Tammi, takes place shortly after The Weeknd’s performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The video begins as his set ends, The Character grinning like Rupert Pupkin at the end of Martin Scorese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ – itself a huge influence of Todd Phillips’s ‘Joker.’

    'After Hours' (left) and 'Jacob's Ladder' (right)
    ‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (right)

    Tesfaye has stated influences on the short film also include Adrian Lyne’s psychological horror film ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ which includes a scene where Tim Robbins is menaced by unknown forces in an empty subway station, Roman Polanki’s ‘Chinatown’ (the bandage on his nose), Claire Deni’s ‘Trouble Every Day,’ Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, and Brian De Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill.’

    “IN YOUR EYES”

    "In Your Eyes" (left) and 'Dial M for Murder' (right)
    “In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘Dial M for Murder’ (right)

    The video with possibly the most film references is “In Your Eyes,” in which The Character wordlessly stalks a young blonde woman à la Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween.’ The horror movie infused video has nods to everything from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ to Dario Argento’s Suspiria to Alfred Hitchcock. At one point the woman takes refuge in a phone booth – à la ‘The Birds’ – and dials for help. Tammi, uses an ultra close-up of the keys, an homage to ‘Dial M For Murder,’ in which Hitchcock blonde Grace Kelly’s husband Ray Milland has hired someone to murder her.

    "In Your Eyes" (left) and 'The Terminator' (right)
    “In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘The Terminator’ (right)

    The woman then flees to a club titled After Hours – which uses the exact same lightbulb font as the Tech Noir club in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator,’ an idea that came early in the creative ideation for the video.

    “TOO LATE”

    "Too Late" (left) and 'The Neon Demon' (right)
    “Too Late” (left) and ‘The Neon Demon’ (right)

    The horror vibes continue in the video for “Too Late”, directed by Cliqua. After being decapitated at the end of the previous video, The Character’s head is found by two models on the side of the road. The world they inhabit feels akin to Nicholas Winding Refn’s psychological horror film ‘The Neon Demon,’ where the Los Angeles modeling scene is depicted as so bleak the models are literally eating each other alive. Tesfaye is a noted friend of director Refn.

    "Too Late" (left) and 'American Psycho' (right)
    “Too Late” (left) and ‘American Psycho’ (right)

    When the two discover that the head belongs to The Weeknd, they concoct a nefarious plan to bring him back to life. Laying newspapers on their floor and donning clear plastic rain gear à la Mary Harron’s adaption of Bret Easton Ellis’s yuppie black comedy American Psycho, the girls lure an unsuspecting male stripper (Ken XY) to their home in order to murder him and place The Character’s head on his body. Spooky.

    “SAVE YOUR TEARS”

    "Save Your Tears" (left) and 'Eyes Wide Shut' (right)
    “Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (right)

    In the most recent video, “Save Your Tears” again directed by Cliqua, The Character is now performing for a masked crowd straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ After appearing at the American Music Awards with a fully bandaged face like the models, his face has now clearly been marred by plastic surgery (looking quite a bit like Jocelyn Wildenstein aka the Tiger Woman of NYC).

    "Save Your Tears" (left) and 'Batman' (right)
    “Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Batman’ (right)

    As the video ends, there is one last Joker reference – this time with Jack Nicholson’s iteration. In the climax of Tim Burton’s ‘Batman,’ he pulls a gun on himself after forcing Vicki Vale (Kim Basigner) to dance with him. Like Nicholson’s Joker, when he pulls the trigger there’s no bullet; The Character’s gun shoots confetti, just like the Joker’s gun pops out a flag.

    Since these are just a few of the many references found throughout the music videos for After Hours (and in fact most of his music videos going back a decade), it’s only a matter of time before The Weeknd makes a feature film himself, or at least drops a link to his Letterboxd profile.