Deep Water

Deep Water is a 2022 psychological thriller film directed by Adrien Brody and written by Zach Helm, who adapted the screenplay from Patricia Highsmith's 1957 novel of the same name. The film stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as two unhappy spouses caught up in a web of deceit and violence. Wilfred "Willy" Voigt (Ben Affleck) is a well-liked and affluent husband who shares a privileged and expensive lifestyle with his wife, Bathsheba (Ana de Armas), in Palm Beach, Florida. On the surface, their marriage appears to be ideal, but beneath the façade of luxury and harmony, the couple's relationship is plagued by tension and distrust. In a twisted attempt to save their marriage and avoid the humiliation of divorce, Willy allows his wife to engage in numerous affairs with wealthy and charismatic men, a practice they refer to as "the game." Bathsheba's escapades not only fuel Willy's jealousy but also compromise his own sense of self-worth. A product of his troubled upbringing, Willy struggles to reconcile his dark impulses with his desire to be a part of this seemingly perfect, polished elite community. This creates tension that lies beneath the surface, as these desires and darker impulses battle for control. One evening at a waterfront restaurant, Bathsheba catches the eye of Pete Maddox (Jacques Houdek), a charming, young, and ambitious financial advisor who embodies the very qualities that draw Willy into a state of violent fury and despair. The evening quickly takes a turn for the worse as Willy loses his grip on reality, crossing a threshold of brutal and devastating consequences. The police begin an investigation, casting suspicion on the enigmatic, well-off businessman who seems unable to control his jealousy. As the days pass, doubts and suspicion cloud everyone involved, the prime suspects including the well-off husband, and the stunning, attractive wife with a taste for adventure and deceit. The disintegration of the socialite facade of their community masks the true nature of the situation as lives are put at risk, all due to the complicated "game" that Willy and Bathsheba play amongst their high-society peers. As Detective Burns (Tracie Thoms) delves deeper into the case, she uncovers a tangled web of relationships and deceptions that serve to implicate Willy in the mystery. Willy's obsessive nature makes him a suspect in the disappearance of his wife's lovers, though he may not be entirely responsible. He becomes trapped in the investigation and subjected to intense scrutiny as the mystery unfolds, begging the question: What drives a man to abandon the moral code that could change the balance of his life and possibly even land him in prison?