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Spoilers follow for the plot ofDeep Water.
Sex is integral to Patricia HighsmithsDeep Water or, at least, the suggestion of it.
Bodies that suddenly bolt upright when another figure enters the room.
In director Adrian Lynes new filmed adaptation, though, the sex is explicit.
Both versions of Vic descend into murder when Melinda brings home one too many pretty, dull young men.
(The water was not deep enough, it seems.)
This is a book!
(Letts, ever the professional, mugs for the camera all the way down.)
A third man is dead, and Vics secret is safe.
(Thats a whole other story.)
Cut to her alone, burning Tonys ID, the dead mans face melting in the flames.
(It should be noted that the ending in Highsmiths novel is just as abrupt.)
Is she afraid of Vic, despite knowing shes the thing he kills for?
Is true love never having to testify against your spouse in court?
And, at least in public, Vic puts up with it because he loves her.
A few scenes later, he rubs lotion on her naked body as she teases him about her affairs.
He pulls away, like the middle-aged stiff he is.
In Lynes movie, neither of them is punished.
How many dopey hunks must die to keep the flame alive in this marriage?
Its a chilling question for about half a second.
The whiplash and laughter of the films final moments points to the latter.
Now, wives bringing their lovers home to meet their husbands is simply responsible polyamory.
That wont stop cuckolding enthusiasts from uploading clips from the film onto fetish sites, but you know what?
As long as no one ends up floating face-down in a shallow body of water, let em.
