THE DEEP END (15) _ 3 out of 5

Life for Margaret Hall, (Tilda Swinton) a housewife in the small town community of Lake Tahoe, California, is not ideal, writes Julian Becker.

Her husband, a naval officer, spends months at sea on an aircraft-carrier and she's

beginning to have run-ins with her eldest son Beau, (Jonathan Tucker) whose relationship with an older man (Darby Reese played by Josh Lucas) is a constant worry to her.

Things take a turn for the worse when Darby's body washes up on the beach-front outside their family home.

In her place, any protective mother who believes her son is implicated in a murder, might consider getting rid of the victim's body to protect her own.

They may consider it, and Margaret does. No need for suspension of disbelief yet then, as we're still in the realms of the conceivable.

Enter Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic). He knows all about Beau's relationship with Darby Reese and plans to blackmail Margaret to keep some potentially incriminating evidence from finding its way into police hands.

She tries to raise the $50,000 he demands, while continuing normal motherly duties for Beau's two younger siblings.

But Spera has an attack of consience, when he finds Margaret on her knees, trying to revive her dying father.

Goran Visnjic is an actor not devoid of charisma and screen presence, but he doesn't seem convinced by his character, and I don't blame him.

One minute he's a villain and the next, he's playing a good samaritan.

Two women beside me in the movie theatre fell about laughing, because it is laughably unbelievable.

Such a drastic change of character can be the making of winning conflict in a well excecuted film, but unfortunately not in this one.

* Out December 14.

December 13, 2001 16:00