Contents



The search for her son was over. The search for her family was just beginning.

1999




The Deep End Of The Ocean (1999)  

Directed by 
Ulu Grosbard    
  
Writing credits 
Jacquelyn Mitchard   (novel) 
Stephen Schiff    
  
Cast (in credits order) 
Michelle Pfeiffer ....  Beth Cappadora  
Treat Williams ....  Pat Cappadora  
Whoopi Goldberg ....  Candy Bliss  
Jonathan Jackson (II) ....  Vincent (age 16)  
Ryan Merriman ....  Sam Karras/Ben Cappadora  
John Kapelos ....  George Karras  
Michael McElroy (I) ....  Ben  
Cory Buck ....  Vincent (age 7)  
Alexa Vega ....  Kerry (age 9)  
Michael McGrady ....  Jimyy Daugherty  
Brenda Strong ....  Ellen  
Rose Gregorio ....  Rosie  
Tony Musante ....  Angelo  
rest of cast listed alphabetically  
Timothy Davis-Reed ....  Reporter  
Wayne Duvall ....  Det. McGuire  
Van Epperson ....  Guard  
Todd Jeffries ....  Cop Ricky  
Lucinda Jenney   
  
Produced by 
Frank Capra III   (executive)  
Kate Guinzberg    
Steve Nicolaides    
  
Original music by 
Elmer Bernstein    
  
Cinematography by 
Stephen Goldblatt    
  
Film Editing by 
John Bloom (II)    
  
Casting 
Lora Kennedy    
  
Production Design by 
Dan Davis (II)    
  
Art Direction 
William Hiney    
Philip Toolin    
  
Set Decoration 
Stephanie Ziemer    
  
Costume Design by 
Susie DeSanto    
  
Makeup Department 
Michael Germain ....  key makeup artist 
key makeup artist 
makeup artist: Ms. Goldberg (as Mike Germain)
(as Mike Germain) 
Candace Neal ....  hair stylist: Ms. Pfeiffer  
Violet Ortiz ....  additional hair stylist  
K.G. Ramsey ....  hair stylist: Mr. Williams
key hair stylist  
Rick Sharp ....  makeup artist  
Ronnie Specter ....  makeup artist: Ms. Pfeiffer  
Julia L. Walker ....  hair stylist: Ms. Goldberg  
  
Production Management 
Jim Dyer ....  unit production manager  
  
Assistant Director 
George Bamber ....  second assistant director  
Frank Capra III ....  assistant director  
David Hyman ....  second second assistant director  
Eric Tignini ....  additional second second assistant director  
  
Sound Department 
John Bauman (I) ....  cable person  
Kate Eales ....  apprentice sound editor  
Carl Fischer (II) ....  boom operator  
Petur Hliddal ....  sound  
Jennifer Ralston ....  foley supervisor  
Nicholas Renbeck ....  dialogue editor  
  
Special Effects 
Jeffrey Arnold ....  visual effects compositing artist  
Joseph L.E. Chenier III ....  special effects  
John Coates (II) ....  visual effects animator  
David Fogg ....  visual effects compositing artist  
Gino Freselli ....  visual effects production assistant  
Shauna M. Hirdler ....  visual effects production assistant  
Steven D. Jensen ....  special effects  
Lincoln Kupchak ....  visual effects editor  
John P. Mesa ....  co-visual effects supervisor  
Penny A. Mesa ....  visual effects producer  
William Mesa ....  visual effects supervisor  
Donald Myers (I) ....  visual effects animator  
Dan Novy ....  visual effects compositing artist  
Bruce Pearson (II) ....  visual effects animator  
Joe D. Ramsey ....  special effects co-ordinator  
  
Other crew 
Rouben Abranian ....  property maker  
Jennifer Addington ....  transportation assistant  
Norman Alatorre ....  property maker  
Suzanne Anaya ....  extras casting  
Lee Ariza ....  grip  
Joe Baker (II) ....  driver  
Jason Bartolone ....  property maker  
Anthony Barton ....  labor gang boss  
Ty Beck ....  labor  
Jason Bedig ....  set dresser  
Guy Belegaud ....  propmaker foreman  
Chris Beresford ....  property maker  
Bobbin Bergstrom ....  icu nurse Consultant  
Sonia Bhalla ....  production assistant  
Kevin Bissada ....  receptionist  
Scott Bobbitt ....  lead man  
Len Borggrebe ....  property maker  
Paul D. Boydston ....  location scout  
Gary A. Brewer ....  set dresser  
Daragh Byrne ....  propmaker gang boss  
Barbara Calloway ....  payroll accountant  
Robert Camron ....  set dresser  
Robert Cardillo ....  on set greens  
Budd Carr ....  executive music producer  
Victor Carranza ....  propmaker gang boss  
Tony Castagnola ....  greens co-ordinator  
Laurence Castello ....  painter gang boss  
Amanda Chamberlin ....  costumer: Ms. Goldberg (as Mandy Chamberlin) 
Martin Charles ....  graphics designer  
Gerald Cheney ....  property maker  
Peter S. Clarke ....  property master  
Richard Cody (I) ....  craft service  
Genevieve Thomas Colvin ....  music co-ordinator  
Marnie Cooper ....  acting coach  
Maurice Costello (II) ....  construction medic  
John Coven ....  storyboard artist  
Stephanie Cramer ....  apprentice editor  
Candace Crump ....  stand-in: "Candy"  
Vic Cuccia ....  construction driver  
Chic Daniel ....  police technical advisor  
Ray Delamotte ....  camera operator  
Tim Donahue ....  matte painter  
Jim Dunlap ....  first assistant accountant  
Susan Ehrhart ....  production secretary  
Katrina Elder ....  production assistant  
Josh Elliot ....  on-set dresser  
Scott Febbo ....  rigging best boy grip  
Marc Fekkes ....  property maker  
Ron Fillion ....  painter  
Anne Fishbein ....  photographic consultant  
Todd Fulkerson ....  second assistant editor  
Scot Gaal ....  lighting technician  
Mark Gantt IV ....  additional props  
Anthony Gaudio ....  painter  
Lisa Goldsmith ....  buyer  
Tony Gomes ....  painter gang boss  
Donald Goodman (I) ....  drapery
swing gang  
Chad Goodrich ....  property maker  
Chris Gordon (II) ....  driver (as Chris Gorden) 
Jan Gould ....  best boy grip  
Tony Greasley ....  driver  
Deborah Hall ....  costumer  
Kenneth Halverson ....  property maker  
Verne Hammond ....  labor foreman  
John Haselbusch ....  lighting technician  
Matthew Hawkins ....  lighting technician  
Justine Hebron ....  assistant production co-ordinator  
Richard Heil ....  propmaker gang boss  
Daryl Hemmerich ....  stand-in: "Pat"  
Michael Herron ....  casting assistant  
Stephanie Higgins Frey ....  art department co-ordinator  
Ree Hoke ....  construction medic  
Peggy Holmes ....  choreographer  
Jennifer Morrison Holyfield ....  costumer: Ms. Pfeiffer  
Steve Howard (III) ....  driver  
Tom Hrupcho ....  paint foreman  
Bob Hunter (III) ....  transportation co-ordinator  
Jay M. Huntoon ....  video assist operator  
Laura Iler ....  assistant property master  
Pat Jackson (II) ....  studio teacher  
Rod Jackson ....  second assistant accountant  
Dominique Jaramillo ....  construction medic  
Kristen Jimenez ....  production assistant  
Alfred Lee Johnson ....  labor  
Ford Jones ....  on set greens  
Jeff 'Tadpole' Jones ....  driver  
Morgan Jones (IV) ....  set dressing driver  
Caren Kaplow ....  assistant to Ms. Pfeiffer  
Jamie Kehoe ....  craft service  
Nancy Kerhoffer ....  post-production supervisor  
Susan Kistler ....  key costumer  
Mary Kohnert (II) ....  assistant to Ms. Guinzburg  
Sophia Konugres ....  dance consultant: Greece  
Luca Kouimelis ....  script supervisor  
Les Kovacs ....  gaffer  
Stacy De La Motte ....  production assistant  
Tim Lamprose ....  set medic  
Shawn Landis ....  second assistant camera  
Elizabeth Lapp ....  assistant art director  
Giovanni Sebastian Lapp ....  stand-in: "Vincent"  
Michael Leon (II) ....  location manager  
Tom Leonardis ....  assistant to Ms. Goldberg  
Aimee Levine ....  production assistant  
Don Levinski ....  driver  
Mark A. Lindsay ....  lighting technician  
Josh Logerot ....  painter  
Bill Magill ....  propmaker foreman  
Lance Mancuso ....  construction medic  
Kris Fullan Martinez ....  production co-ordinator  
Dennis McCarthy (III) ....  set costumer  
Tim C. McHenry ....  driver (as Tim McHenry) 
Jerry McMullan ....  trailer driver: Ms. Pfeiffer  
Benny McNulty ....  best boy electric  
John Meckfessel ....  basketball coach  
Barbara Mesney ....  set designer  
John A. Mileski ....  painter  
Marva M. Mitchell ....  set decorating co-ordinator  
Kevin Mullins ....  location manager: Chicago  
Mimi Munn ....  stand-in: "Beth"  
Donald J. Myers ....  3-D computer animator  
Ken Nishino ....  first assistant camera  
Jim Ondrejko ....  construction co-ordinator  
Joe Ondrejko ....  general foreman  
Marco Orozco ....  driver: Ms. Pfeiffer (as Marco Antonio Orozco) 
Charli Palazzo ....  painter  
Michelle Parvin ....  dga trainee  
Harold Peacock ....  set dressing driver  
Eric Persons ....  assistant location manager  
James C. Piccione ....  labor  
Mark Poll ....  set designer  
Eric Ramirez ....  set dresser  
Scott Ramsey ....  transportation co-captain  
Bob Reidel ....  driver (as Robert Reidell) 
Joe Roddey ....  production assistant  
Zade Rosenthal ....  still photographer  
Kristy Sager ....  casting associate  
Charles Saldana ....  key grip  
David Saltzman (I) ....  second assistant props  
Chris Samp ....  painter gang boss  
Katrina L. Sanders ....  driver: maxivan  
Marvin LaRoy Sanders ....  driver: maxivan  
Stephen Schiff ....  second unit director  
Kenny Schneider ....  lighting technician  
Paul Schwanke ....  picture car co-ordinator  
Dennis Seawright ....  first assistant camera  
Fred Seibly ....  painter  
Rick Seidemann ....  painter  
James Shoemaker ....  labor gang boss  
Brian Sobaski ....  stand-by painter  
Robert Soles ....  plaster foreman  
Cesar Solis ....  honeywagon driver  
Nick Stavrow ....  driver  
Carl J. Stensel ....  set designer  
James Stephenson (II) ....  propmaker gang boss  
Alex Stewart ....  driver  
Bret Stewart ....  driver  
Kevin Stewart (II) ....  rigging key grip  
Linda Stone ....  studio teacher  
Wayne Stone ....  transportation captain  
Eileen Sieff Stroup ....  wardrobe supervisor  
Alix Taylor ....  assistant to Mr. Grosbard  
Ledia Telo ....  construction accountant  
Etienne Terblanche ....  matte painting artist  
Christopher Turley ....  painter  
Antonia Van Drimmelen ....  first assistant editor  
Mark Van Loon ....  camera operator
steadicam operator  
Mike Wacker ....  driver: Ms. Goldberg (as Michael Wacker) 
Justin Walker ....  labor foreman  
Doug Wall ....  grip  
Dan Wallin ....  music scoring mixer  
Charles W. Wayt ....  dolly grip  
Andy Wedemeyer ....  propmaker foreman  
Bill Wells ....  production accountant  
Robert White (IX) ....  driver  
Becky Whitehorse ....  production co-ordinator  
Chris Winn ....  craft service  
Linda Wu ....  camera loader (as Lynda Wu) 
Deborah Wuliger ....  publicity  
Tyra Youland ....  costumer  
Anthony Zahn Jr. ....  driver (as Tony Zahn) 
Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc ....  aerial co-ordinator  
Jeff Zuckerman ....  painter  
  
 

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THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****):  ***

It was just for a moment. Okay, maybe two. You looked away or you stepped away, and now the most important thing in your entire life is gone. Your child was right there. From that now empty space there screams a silent cry.

It's every parent's worst nightmare, and, as we all know, it happens to us all. Usually, we search and the child turns out to be just a few feet away, but in a panic we miss seeing him. Most parents can tell just such a story. I remember being on a payphone when my son was three. I was watching him, I looked away to dial, and then he was gone. Luckily, my utter devastation lasted for just a few, unbearably long seconds, as he had just scooted a few feet away so that a corner hid his body. He was never aware that he was missing, but my heart almost stopped.

In THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN, based on Jacquelyn Mitchard's best selling novel, Beth Cappadora has to confront her worst nightmare, and it lasts for years. Arriving in a busy hotel without her husband and with her three young kids in tow, she briefly leaves the middle child, Ben, a mischievous and fearless 3-year-old in the care of Vincent, his 7-year-old brother, while she checks in. Ben disappears, lost into the crowd. It's natural to be upset with both Vincent and Beth, but one is too young to have been given such responsibility and the other makes a momentary bad judgement, as we all do.

Although the press kit says that the cast was administered an "anti-sentimental" pill every day, the story will reduce you to tears. Is there any material more ripe to elicit strong emotions than that of a lost child? As directed by Ulu Grosbard and adapted for the screen by Stephen Schiff, the movie is at its best and most convincing in the tear-jerking first act.

Two characters play Rock of Gibraltar roles. Treat Williams, as Beth's husband Pat, is so unflappable that he will likely begin to grate on your nerves. Only a fight with Beth will elicit the anger that smolders within him. "Kids don't get lost," he yells at her in a telling scene later in the story. "People lose them."

The other rock in the story is Detective Candy Bliss (Whoopi Goldberg), who will attempt not only to locate Ben, but also to help Beth get through her unbearable ordeal. "First thing I want to tell you -- this isn't anybody's fault," which is exactly what Beth will never believe. "Kids disappear all the time. We find them," which is the closest thing to a lie that the detective says.

The strength of the movie comes from the impressive power of Michelle Pfeiffer's performance. She displays a highly nuanced range of emotions from depression, despondence and guilt to denial, withdrawal, and anger. If she doesn't fill your tear ducts at some point in the film, see your doctor and have them checked.

The last half of the movie is set 9 years later, when, as the trailers reveal, Ben accidentally finds them. This half isn't nearly as well developed as the consistent and logical first half.

The cast, other than Pfeiffer and Goldberg, is hit and miss, and the direction works only sporadically. One minute the movie is completely engrossing, and the next the characters are inconsistent and out of character with Vincent, played by Jonathan Jackson, being the worst. When his brother is located, for example, he doesn't show one iota of interest, something that is very hard to buy, even given his repressed guilt.

The screenwriter, having painted himself into a cinematic corner, leaves himself several ending options, but none of them are satisfactory. Reportedly, Pfeiffer wanted a different ending, which they filmed but decided not to use.

The whole last act slowly grinds to a halt almost destroying the emotional investment we made in the beginning. The result is a moving motion picture, but one that leave viewers conflicted. Parts work so well and others just are not set up properly. And then there is that ending, which isn't bad but isn't particularly satisfactory either.

THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN runs 1:45. It is rated PG-13 for some profanity and mature themes and would be fine for teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com




Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Michelle Pfeiffer gives a credible performance here in a movie based on the bestseller of the same name. She plays Beth Cappadora, a woman who loses her son while making reservations for her highschool reunion. He goes missing for 9 years, and finally shows up at her house to cut the grass. He's been living a block down from her house for awhile now. What the odds of that happening is, I don't know. The first half of the movie deals with the family losing him, and the scond half is the turmoil and emotions they go through after he is found and brought back into their lives. Their elder son, Victor, has a more difficult time dealing with this even more then Ben, who was kidnapped. It also deals with Ben and his adoptive father, who didn't even know that his son was kidnapped by his deceased wife. Also starring here is Treat Williams, who gives a decent performance as the father trying to hold his family together and Whoopi Goldberg who just seems a little out of place as the head detective who befriends the family. This film is pretty good and is worth renting but doesn't quite tell us as much as we would like or seem to be able to get its message across. Some other films with the same premise do a better job at this, such as "Without a Trace" and "I Know My First Name is Steven". If you like this type of movie, I'd suggest you check out those titles as well.

I give The Deep End Of The Ocean 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review written September 2, 1999
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