‘Deep End’: David Lynch on the only colour movie he has “freaked out over”
The midnight movie circuit was irrevocably changed when David Lynch released Eraserhead in 1977. People were enthralled by his shadowy black-and-white meditation on fatherhood, which included bizarre characters, a grotesque alien baby and immaculate sound design.
There was no way that Lynch could make something like Eraserhead and not become a cinematic giant. He soon transcended the underground scene and made The Elephant Man, a moving exploration of prejudice set in Victorian-era England. Both movies were noted for their spectacular monochrome photography, with Lynch’s world appearing to inhabit a gloriously dreamlike world.
Yet, with Dune, Lynch transitioned to colour film, with bright hues coming to define many of his subsequent productions, such as the striking use of red in Twin Peaks. There are many moments in Lynch’s movies which require colour, such as when Diane Ladd’s character smears pink lipstick over her face in Wild At Heart or when Isabella Rossellini sings in a neon-lit bar in Blue Velvet.
However, Lynch once claimed that there has only been one “colour movie” that he has “freaked out over”. He made the statement in an interview with NME in 1982 before he had made the foray into colour himself. He explained, “I don’t like colour movies and I can hardly think about colour. It really cheapens things for me.”
The exception he made was for Deep End, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, which Lynch stated has “really great art direction”. The Polish filmmaker released the movie in 1970, using a foreign perspective to depict the end of the Swinging Sixties, setting his narrative in the heart of London. Deep End follows Mike, a 15-year-old boy who begins working at a public bathhouse where he meets the 25-year-old Susan, with whom he quickly becomes infatuated.
The teenager does whatever he can to be near her, even if that means attempting to sabotage her current relationship. He stalks the streets of London in the hopes of bumping into her at night, living between reality and a dreamworld, which is represented by his fixation on a life-sized naked cutout of a woman who resembles Susan.
Mike’s obsession with Susan descends into chaos and, ultimately, tragedy, with Skolimowski examining the lengths we can go to when we experience extreme desire. The film’s preoccupation with fantasy versus reality reflects Lynch’s obsession with similar themes, as do explorations of sexual and societal corruption.
Deep End is a fantastic British film, although it remains relatively underappreciated compared to many of its counterparts. Despite the fact that it contained previously unheard songs by Can and Cat Stevens, as well as starring 60s ‘it girl’ Jane Asher, Deep End never truly received the praise it so rightly deserves.
