Deep Water director Adrian Lyne: We made some changes in Ben Affleck’s character

The Ben Afflek and Ana de Armas-starrer psychological thriller Deep Water is all set to premiere on Prime Video on March 18th. The film, directed by Adrian Lyne, is based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name. Lyne, whose previous work involved Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful and Indecent Proposal, found an opportunity to deep dive into the ideas and emotions about adulterous encounters with Deep Water. He says, “In my films I deal with relationships because I am fascinated by relationships, and sex is part of that, and infidelity is part of sex. “In this film, murder is part of infidelity.” Lyne continues, “Deep Water is about jealousy. I’m interested in the impulsivity and desire for excitement that compels infidelity, as well as the guilt and resentment. The film is about a man who cannot handle the arrangement he has made with his wife. He cannot handle his emotions, and his jealousy leads to murder.”

While the film remains largely faithful to the novel’s plot, characters and dark psychological underpinnings, there are some notable exceptions. “We made some changes but tried for the most part to stay true to it,” said Academy Award®–winning producer Anthony Katagas. “We changed the relationship between Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas). In the novel, they are in a loveless, cruel marriage and very distant from one another. We wanted to raise the emotional stakes between them, making the situation more volatile and driving the action forward.”

Adding  to this, Lyne said, “We changed Vic a little because in the book he’s a wimp, really,” said Lyne. “He’s a big guy physically but a bit too passive with no sexual interest in his wife, although he’s still jealous of her lovers. I thought it would be more interesting to introduce a certain complicity between Vic and Melinda, for them to have a sexual relationship and to have Vic sexually attracted to his wife with this infidelity ongoing.”

The filmmakers also changed the story setting from the novel’s affluent suburb of Little Wesley, Massachusetts, in the 1950s to the present-day mansions and stately homes of New Orleans’ Garden District and Uptown areas.

Screenwriters Zach Helm (“Stranger Than Fiction,” “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”) and Sam Levinson (“Euphoria,``''The Wizard of Lies”) were brought on board to adapt Highsmith’s novel for the screen.