Deep End

I thought this was heading in one direction and was ready to pan it, but then it went in another direction and I ended up quite liking it. I'll just say that the ending, or something like it, is exactly what the film needed to work. If it had gone the way I was expecting I would have found it a terrible message. It's listed as a comedy in some places and I didn't find it particularly funny, but it works well as a drama.

coming of age is coming of class. the definitive creepy protagonist, as in his neuroses creep up so gently you've followed him too far into the water by the time you try to touch the floor. bruno andrade called it the film aoyama, tsai, wong and jia tried and failed to replicate; high praise, with a ring of truth. hard to believe how normal the finale feels in the moment and how INSANE in retrospect, while the centrepiece unlocks can for this krautrock skeptic and buries the key in the snow.

Quite unique coming of age film which keeps you guessing where it's heading. There were some scenes that reminded me of The Graduate and others that made me wonder if Wes Anderson saw this as it shares themes and situations with his Rushmore -- even if the style is very different. It still feels fresh but it's also very much a time capsule, and gets better as it progresses. Probably one to revisit and makes you investigate Skolimowski's filmography.

Skolimowski at his finest. Inspired and creative, but believable and without flights of fancy.

Interesting film, Were public baths really like that? No wonder they all closed down.

The climax is great, but otherwise it's a mediocre urban-aesthetic in the night movie. It's not enough "coming-of-age", i guess.

A coming-of-age/"angry young man" film, comparable to similar work by Roeg and Anderson and Ashby, and probably an influence on Rushmore. My involvement level was low at first, particularly because I felt a lot of the humor was weak, but gradually I was reeled in, and was stunned by the ending. Moulder-Brown isn't too hot in the lead, but Asher makes up for it with a performance that at first seems like the annoying "magic pixie girl" but evolves into something more well-rounded.

It’s not a ‘coming of age story.’ It’s not about a ‘creep.’ What it is, is a document showing just how puritanical society has become 54 years later. The ‘creeping’ is how Puritanism insidiously creeps its dirty hands into every aspect of storytelling, championed by undying matriarchal busybodies.

DAMN that shit was wild

The tone of this is really strange, but it's also strong enough to have reeled me in.

An adolescent leaves school and finds a world of work and leisure where unconstrained sexuality is everywhere yet seems to be inaccessible (à la TAXI DRIVER), but where the viewer finds that the descent of the protagonist makes him an increasingly unsympathetic figure. Critics at the time seemed to see this as a comedy that turns to horror: it didn’t function that way for this viewer, and the characters all seemed a bit wooden, but the inventiveness of the filming does leave an impression.

Peculiar film, as it keeps threatening to be some run-of-the-mill stalker-horror film, yet it doesn't quite go in any direction you'd guess. It's got bits of uncomfortable humor, some vibrant colors, and a lot of hot dogs.

okay movie

O Ato Final estreava há 50 anos no Festival de Veneza. Não sei se esse filme é uma obra-prima absoluta ou apenas excelente, mas olhando em retrospecto, ele é mesmo o epitome de tudo que o cinema dos anos 70 iria se tornar. Bluray rip RARBG.

Polish ex-pat Jerzy Skolimowski first rose to international prominence by co-scripting Roman Polanski's "Knife in the Water". There's a real tonal similarity to Polanksi's European thrillers of the period, even though it's mostly played more as a sexually charged romantic comedy. The use of extremely vivid colour stands out, as does the soundtrack that uses Cat Stevens and Can to striking effect. Burt Kwouk pops up as a Soho hot dog vendor. Hard to top that.

The 1970s... boy they did some odd things for fun back then. The boy's awkwardness around all women sticks out like a sore thumb. It's clear that he will be set up for a car crash of infatuation and/or sex with lovely Jane Asher. In between, a host of really random scenes at a cinema, a hotdog stand and a park. The film is packed with sensuous imagery and colour blocks - a semioticist's wet dream. A lot of the acting is ropey but Skolimowski created a flowing abstract work of art imitating life.

A nice, coming of age story that manages to be slightly surreal and deeply grounded at the same time. Some good awkward comedy and some pathos too, it hits a lot of great marks.

Deep End is an incredibly awkwardly written movie that only gets away with that fact because it's about an incredibly awkward situation. Young Moulder-Brown is going through his first major crush on a manipulative Asher. His strange pubescent feelings are toyed with by her, and Moulder-Brown's lust becomes misguided between his desire for something mature and his still childlike mindset. It goes a little too far, but Deep End truthfully portrays this uncomfortable phase of life we try to forget.

A decent coming-of-age tale -although its treatment of sexuality was quite ahead of its time, I couldn't help being underwhelmed/semi-bored most of the time. The finale was great though.

Bir erkeğin cinsel uyanışını bu kadar iyi anlatan bir film daha yoktur diye düşünüyorum. O "camera work" ne öyle! Hele o final!.. Bir de içinde Can var. Skolimowski sizce de tüm zamanların en underrated yönetmenlerinden biri değil mi?

At first this didn't strike me as a disturbing film, although there are indications along the way, where certain people grope and push and inappropriately weasel their way onto the skin of others. This kind of dissatisfaction and inner rage found in not getting what you want culminates with a startling ending that's effective in forcing the viewer to reevaluate his/her opinion of Mike's desires. Susan at first seems unlikable, but becomes more sympathetic as the film goes along, which is key.

It's like a british new wave version for The Graduate.

You gotta love 1970s london.

dat jane asher, tho...

The climax is great, but otherwise it's a mediocre urban-aesthetic in the night movie. It's not enough "coming-of-age", i guess.

Quite remarkable tale of sexual obsession, dreamy yet with lots of energy. It's very focussed on its theme, every frame is sexual in some disturbing way. The ending is breathtaking, and quite beautifully filmed.