Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) is a bored 30-something woman in postwar London. Surviving a suicide attempt, she's forced to confront her past failings. Her marriage to the affable but dull Judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale) drove her into an affair with Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), a handsome but feckless RAF pilot. Unable to find happiness in either relationship, Hester's forced to reconfigure her shattered life.
The Deep Blue Sea transfigures Rattigan's "well-made play" into elegant, cinematic form. Davies fleshes the story out with moody flashbacks and musical interludes: tunes like "Molly Malloy" and "You Belong to Me" evoke both their time period and characterization. Florian Hoffmeister's brooding photography, all dark blues and muted browns, provides an evocative, almost dreamlike quality. For a stage adaptation the film's sparse on dialogue; Davies allows the melancholy visuals - drab wallpaper, bombed-out rubble, dingy pubs and lurking shadows - to emphasize the human drama.
Inevitably, Rattigan purists will regret adaptation alterations. Besides opening up the story, Davies also pares down many extant speeches which lessen some of the drama's edges. The male characters suffer particularly: Collyer not only loses his meatiest lines, but actually lives with his harping mother (Barbara Jefford). Thus, he's a wretched sap and no serious competitor for Hester. Freddie fares better, but his big scenes with pal Jackie (Harry Haddon-Paton) are exponentially reduced. Good acting shores up this weak spot, but Davies clearly seems more interested in Hester than his leading men.
Adaptation aside, Sea retains Rattigan's meatiest content. Hester's passion contrasts against a dour world of self-denial, of which Collyer's the most obvious representative. She recognizes Freddie as a shallow fraud, but relishes her carnal attraction to the man - something Collyer can't understand. Certainly his mother can't, advising her that passion leads only to ugliness. Rattigan makes much of attempted suicide's illegality; it's an expression of unrestrained emotion unbecoming in middle class society. Having fun in austerity Britain itself feels criminal, especially for women.
Rachel Weisz anchors the show. Hester's a difficult character: some consider her a feminist for striking out on her own, but it's in pursuit of selfish ends. She's a delicate balancing act between melodrama heroine and independent woman. Weisz assays the role with remarkable nuance and skill. She hones her emotions to a fine point, without playing for obvious big emotions: a subtle gesture, tearful glance or expressively-smoked cigarette suffice.
Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) provides a perfect mix of vulgar cad and insouciant charmer. Not terribly self-aware, Freddie's nonetheless clever enough to recognize things with Hester can't work. Simon Russell Beale fares admirably in the weakest part; this Collyer's not pathetic but strong-willed, rather an emasculated milquetoast. But Beale still draws considerable power with his understated, sad-eyed acting. Supporting roles go to Harry Haden-Patton, Ann Mitchell and Barbara Jefford.
The Deep Blue Sea casts a cold, weary eye on the vagaries of love. It plays like a riposte to Brief Encounter; Hester's brought back from the brink, but she can't just return home. Now she's lost both men and must find her own way. That Hester retains sympathy at story's end is Rattigan's finest achievement.
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