In Deep Water, we see that Vic and Melinda are going through some stuff. He loves her, and she hates him, which is standard marriage stuff. Their relationship seemed to have highs and lows, and just when you thought maybe, just maybe, they overcame their issues, something always stood in their way. So, what happens to the dynamic duo in Deep Water? Do they stay together? Or do they ultimately reach their demise?
Vic played the guilty party with his quick-wit remarks to people about how he killed so and so, but he played it off as a joke when others were definitely questioning whether or not to take it at face value. Vic, of course, allowed Melinda to have extramarital affairs so that they wouldn’t get a divorce.
We begin to feel empathy for Vic because his wife is a bit controlling with their life. She even flaunts her illicit affairs not just in front of him but in front of all their friends.
However, as the film progresses, we notice that the control factor really is on both sides of this relationship. Melinda wants to flaunt these relationships in front of Vic, but I am not sure she wants to leave Vic. On the contrary, she enjoys the cat and mouse game she plays with him to the point she is downright manipulative.
I’ll be completely honest: the ending of this movie is bonkers, and it makes you rethink EVERYTHING that happened throughout the film. We see that one by one, these men who are Melinda’s illicit lovers disappear, whether it be by death or by the fear that Vic puts in each of these men. You have this entire thing made up in your mind that Vic is involved, or the writing makes it look like he isn’t involved and something else is going on.
An old boyfriend in Tony enters the picture and rekindles his relationship with Melinda. For the first time, we finally see the side of Vic they had teased throughout the film when he takes him on a ride and eventually kills him. He puts him in a creek and leaves him to go down the river.
After a heartwarming picnic where it seemed that Vic and Melinda had sparked a little something from their past, Vic sees Tony’s body and panics. Melinda left her scarf back at the picnic, and Vic said he would go back and get it.
Lionel, who has been suspicious of Vic the entire film, beat him to find the scarf. No shock here, Lionel ends up dead after a bike/car chase scene. As he cleans up his mess, Melinda goes into Vic’s photography room and stumbles across Tony’s wallet. So you are thinking, ‘THIS IS THE END FOR VIC,’ WRONG.
When Vic returns from cleaning up his mess, he is met by Melinda sitting on the steps, and she looks at him and says, ‘I saw Tony.‘ Following that, we see a montage of her burning all of Tony’s stuff she had found. Does this mean she was in on it by reeling these men in, and he would kill them? Or did she not want to break up the family and protect her husband? There are so many unanswered questions that make you rethink this entire film. Ultimately, the couple is still together and maybe stronger than ever.
One last note: Stick around the after credits for an absolutely adorable performance of the Bee Gees’ ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ by Grace Jenkins, who played Vic/Melinda’s daughter in the film.
