Deep End (1970)
AKA: –
Directed by: Jerzy Skolimowski
Starring: Jane Asher (Susan), John Moulder-Brown (Mike), Karl Michael Vogler (PE Coach), Chris Sandford (Chris), Diana Dors (football lady)
Country: UK; Effed Up British-Irish Films
Language: English (Optional Eng Subs)
Runtime: 01:31:38
Genres: Teen, Voyeur-Stalking, Old-Young Relationships
Plot – Spoilers:
Fresh out of school, Mike lands his first job at a sketchy bathhouse, where he is mentored by an older attendant Susan. Susan has a rich boyfriend, but she’s also having an affair with her former PE teacher, while also casually entertaining the clients at the bath for extra tips. She tries to initiate Mike into her ways, but Mike isn’t keen, especially after his first experience with an old George Best fan who smothers his face against her breasts while having a pub-conversation with herself about a football game.
Mike soon takes to stalking the flirtatiously lovely Susan who enjoys playing with him. His obsession eventually leads to an iconic cinematic moment, where Mike cavorts lovingly with a cutout of Susan in a swimming pool. And if you stick with the movie, the ending proves to be even more memorable.
Even more Spoilers:
Deep End plays around with oddness. Susan initially is supposed to be the most deviant of the lot. But she eventually seems the most normal of them all. Everyone else looks and behaves bizarrely. It’s not just about their kinks – their expressions and acting are in start contrast to her. Mike for example, talks in a halting way which adds to his weird personality. The PE coach is a pervert groomer who probably forever altered Susan’s approach to sexuality. And there’s always the football lady.
Right lovely that was. And the end really was deep, waninit? N wot wasn v end was worf-e-end-a wair it was gowin… Some of the renditions of unrequited obsession escape me because they’re soooo overwhelmingly unconditional. Susan may as well kill Mike, because at least then he could show up and worship-fuck the dirt of her grave? How that makes any mental or emotional sense or speaks to the inner life of a teenager undermines some of the incredible zingers populating the film and the really fabulous final twenty or so minutes of it. Where there is no shame, one usually finds companionship or at the very least a joke. Unfortunately, brut bubbling British wit is nowhere to be found. Because instead, we are afforded blindness so forceful, so stupid, so entitled, so fraudulent, so one-sided and unilateral, it doesn’t really speak to any mental or emotional reality at all, which leaves the film feeling unconvincing. This is to say, the film should have been the end of the film. Forget the rest of it.
Sadly this version has lost 25% of its image by being cropped along the top and bottom to change its original format 4:3 to 16:9. A form of thoughtless vandalism inflicted on many 4:3 movies since 16:9 TVs came along.
Had a chance to get between Diana Dors’s tits and didn’t do it? What a homo.
Oi! A bit of cheeky British humor, in’it luv? I thought we might hear a bit of the bloody Beat-ulls, aye? A bit of a waste of time mate. Seeing Jane Asher naked was nice though. 1 star.
I enjoyed the oddity and originality of it; the atmosphere and weird carachters/acting, and not really knowing where it’s going
Bizarre is right. Then having Cat Stevens at the begining (pre Harold and Maude) just makes it even more of a mind-fuck (probably only for me). In the end it is like a Saturday Morning Picture with some heavy petting.
Beautiful that.
A mix of West German and England and yes… The early seventies was just like this.. . . I know.
Very British… Very coming of age and a worthy addition to this fantastic site.
Jane Asher is gorgeous here too.
Paul McCartney knew her well . . .
This came out towards the end of Britain’s golden age of enjoyable film oddities. Always they were akin to a sorbet after a heavy course of USA produced self-indulgent nonsense.
It was OK, left me wondering wtf was going on alot but eh
I’m not fred to say I’m the first and not fat.