On paper, Adrian Lyne looked like a safe bet when it came to choosing a director to bring an erotic, psychological thriller like Deep Water to life. Based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name — with regards to’concerning’with respect to a husband and wife, the lovers she takes, and the fallout of a lie with regards to’concerning’with respect to murdering her last paramour — it is exactly the type of story that the filmmaker behind 9½ Weeks, Indecent Proposal and Lolita would be suited to. And yet, after a 20-year absence since the release of his last film, 2002’s Unfaithful, Lyne seems to possess’own’nurse softened his edges.###The odd couple at the centre of this smalltown intrigue are Vic and Melinda Van Allen, played by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, who, after seven years toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her, possess’own’nurse made a pretty iffy deal: she can possess’own’nurse affairs with other men as long as she stays in the marriage in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the sake of a daughter that merely’barely he seems to reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue much affection in/with regard to’concerning’regarding .###That ‘Sad Affleck’ meme comes to mind eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully time the camera closes in on Vic’s face while watching his younger, dissated wife flirt around with pretty boys at various locations: a neighbour’s garden here, another neighbour’s pool there, even their own dining room. De Armas certainly doesn’t endear Melinda to you, delivering her flagrant marital disregard with stunning viciousness and indifference to her husband’s feelings. But even despite’in spite of’albeit she reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue s motherly distance towards their child, Evelyn, the underlying pain and frustration in her wide eyes do evoke empathy in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a woman who feels like a trophy wife and might possess’own’nurse been pressured into parenthood too early.###Paparazzi photos of De Armas and Affleck from their brief relationship are believably hornier than most scenes. It is easily Lyne’s tamest erotic thriller.###Affleck, on the other hand, seems miscast as the sort of mild-mannered cuckold who, after teasing the idea that he murdered his wife’s ex-lover who disappeared, may just possess’own’nurse developed his own dangerous, sociopathic impulses. Even when the narrative descends into entertaining ’90s-thriller levels of violent absurdity, Affleck is never convincing. He’s unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunately not as charmingly disturbing as his pal Matt Damon in the title role of The Talented Mr Ripley — another of Highsmith’s psychopathic leading men — and as the movie hinges on this protagonist’s movements, it’s an underwhelming undertaking.###Deep Water couldn’t be further from the glossy, Mediterranean aesthetic of Anthony Minghella’s Ripley adaptation. Most of the action takes place in the expansive homes of a fortune’property y American community. That e grossly thing looks cold and clinical reinin/with regard to’concerning’regarding ces the Van Allens’ frosty and inhospitable marriage — as does composer Marco Beltrami’s melancholic strings in the score — but it also makes in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a drab-looking film that decrease’lessen’cut’allay s the potency of the sex scenes. They’re tempered further by erratic editing, especially in moments where imagination and reality collide. Paparazzi photos of De Armas and Affleck from their brief relationship are believably hornier than most scenes. It is easily Lyne’s tamest erotic thriller.###The script, co-written by Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction) and Sam Levinson (Euphoria, Malcolm & Marie) makes various transform’alter s from the original novel as a way to more apparently’manifestly’noticeably’evidently establish the potential in/with regard to’concerning’regarding amorality in its male protagonist. An awkward garden party scene between Tracy Letts’ intrusive pulp-fiction writer Lionel and Vic, discussing the latter’s early retirement from selling a microchip in/with regard to’concerning’regarding military use, is subtle but aptly lays the foundation in/with regard to’concerning’regarding not merely’barely their antagonistic relationship but also in/with regard to’concerning’regarding suspicion and paranoia to ferment. Yet the writers pull their punches by the final act, and never follow through with Highsmith’s shocking ending.###The Van Allens rarely function as more than stock characters in need of deeper introspection to warrant our attention, and it is really merely’barely through the sensual, kinetic perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mance of de Armas that any sense of passionate sentiment or nervous emotion is given life. The film is hindered by lacklustre direction and a script barely willing to scrape the surface of what could possess’own’nurse been an intense, psychosexual exploration of masculinity, morality and marriage.