The Deep End of the Ocean (1999): Dir: Ulu Grosbard / Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Jackson, Alexa Vega: Drama that inquires how far one would go to obtain information or achieve goals. Michelle Pfeiffer plays a mother who turns her back for only a second only to be confronted with the reality that one of her children is missing. Nine years later she hasn't gotten over it but still continues her job as a photographer. One day her daughter arrives home with a friend to mow the lawn. Pfeiffer is stunned at his resemblance to her missing son. After taking snapshots she involves police resulting in a disturbing film where no one can ultimately win. There is an intriguing twist in the conclusion that ties everything together. Directed by Ulu Grosbard who previously made Georgia. Fine performances by Pfeiffer who suffers for a mistake but will go at lengths to correct it. Treat Williams as her husband is cardboard and basically there to tell Pfeiffer to give up. Whoopi Goldberg has the thankless role as a gay detective with misguided humour. Jonathan Jackson plays the now older son who remembers nothing but is overwhelmed by this sudden life that he cannot reflect. Alexa Vega plays the younger sister who avoids being missing. Depressing film with a strong message about protecting children from society's deep end. Score: 7 / 10

This movie is so famous, and has so many great actors in it, that I had expected more from it. As it was, it had some heart-warming moments, handsome people and beautiful exteriors and interiors - but all in all it was not very exciting. The story was the kind of sentimental family drama one would expect on Hallmark television in the afternoon - not a big cinema movie with famous stars.By the way, I think it is not possible to place a lost-and-found kid drama in present times, because DNA technique, finger prints etc. can prove the identity with almost hundred per cent's certainty. The interesting thing in the lost-and-found stories, is to guess if the person found is who he/she claims to be, or an impostor. As in "Anastasia".And YES I understand that this kind of mystery was not the major issue here, but the reactions of all the family members afterwards. But it is that kind of story that one expects, when one reads about this movie or watches the trailer. So - it was a bit of a disappointment.

In 1988, a woman attends a school reunion with her three young children. Even as she arrives at the hotel, a moment's distraction leaves her middle child missing. 9 years later, she still hasn't quite adjusted to the loss... Rather than examine the impact of an abducted child on the entire family, this unwisely focuses almost exclusively on the mother, and as the mother is played by Pfeiffer, all other characters become mere backdrops for her performance. With the odd exception, Pfeiffer tends to try too hard, especially in dramas, and here is a case in point. Practically every scene makes her the subject, her emotional state, her actions, her reactions. This quickly becomes tiresome, especially as we are asked to accept that her husband has adjusted much more healthily to the boy's disappearance without really being allowed to know how or why. Thus, Williams is given little to do. Jackson fares better, but again he mostly serves to allow Pfeiffer to 'act' and/or 'react'. Other characters are cardboard cut-out (wise-cracking, tough but tender cop, insensitive mother-in-law, two dimensional best friend etc.). This could have been a fascinating and harrowing study in loss and hope, but as a vehicle for Pfeiffer, it never really moves beyond TV movie territory.

Beth Cappadora is at a reunion in a hotel when her middle child of three goes missing. At first the search is informal but it grows increasingly frantic and official as they realise that Ben has been taken by somebody. The family never fully recovers and carry the scars for years. Nine years later the family have moved to Chicago to start a new life. When Beth has a local boy come to the block to cut the grass, she believes that he must be Ben because her looks just like him despite the age. The police recover Ben but is it fair to take him away from the people Ben now considers his family?The plot summary gives the impression that this is just a standard weepy that would easily screen on a weekday afternoon. However the presence of a couple of well known names in the cast list suggests that this film will give the subject a more serious approach that acts more as drama than weepy. Partly the latter is true but not 100%, and the film is still essentially a sort of weepy that has a control of it's emotions and is actually quite stable but not to the point where it is an engaging debate.The material should be thought provoking but it isn't really. What I thought would be the main thrust of the film was really just mentioned in the final 20 minutes and it was not only obvious that it was coming but it was quite logically dealt with without real emotion - this is not a `Sophie's Choice' situation but something quite lacking. The start of the film is OK but it deals with the loss too easily and I never got overwhelmed with the emotions the family must feel. Towards the end the film does a good job looking at the effects the whole thing has had on the other son's character but even this lacks an emotional punch.The cast are good on paper but they seem strangely stilted. Pfeiffer is a good actress who sadly doesn't seem to get as much good work as she gets older. Here she tries hard but can't get across what her character must be feeling inside. Williams is an OK support for her and does OK. Jackson is quite good and his character became more interesting to me than the return of Ben itself. Goldberg hangs around but attempts to give her a character through one line of dialogue about her sexuality and security in her job are so out of the blue that I was left wondering where it came from.Overall this is not a weepy because it aims higher than that and doesn't wrench all the emotion out of every scene to get the audience. However it doesn't aim high enough or reach the level where it is emotional or thought provoking, the end result being an interesting film that is a notch above the level of daytime TV weepy but not as worthy or moving as it wants to be.