Housewife Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton) lives on Lake Tahoe with her three children and her cantankerous father (Peter Donat).

Her husband is a naval officer who spends months at sea, so she is left to take care of the children on her own.

Subtle cracks begin to appear in Margaret's porcelain veneer when she discovers her eldest son, Beau (Jonathan Tucker), is gay and has been having an affair with a no-good hustler called Darby Reese (Josh Lucas).

Hours after Margaret tries to persuade Darby to end the relationship, she stumbles upon his lifeless body, washed ashore in front of the family home.

Margaret assumes that Beau accidentally killed Darby and tries to conceal the body.

Unfortunately, blackmailers Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic) and Carlie Nagle (Raymond J Barry) possess incriminating evidence, and they want $50,000 to guarantee their silence.

As Margaret attempts to dodge blackmail and the law, she begins to find herself oddly attracted to Alek.

A riveting game of cat-and-mouse between mother and blackmailer metamorphoses into a most unlikely love story

The Deep End is a terrifically entertaining and engaging thriller, about a good woman who is driven to breaking point by fear and desperation.

Swinton delivers arguably the finest performance of her career, concealing her native Scottish burr behind the calm facade of an all-American housewife.

Her accent is as flawless as her portrayal of a fiercely protective mother, willing to fall on her sword to keep her son out of jail.

She contrasts nicely with Visnjic who has an incredible physical presence. His homme fatale is simultaneously menacing and sexy.

The ambiguity of Alek's intentions keeps Margaret and the audience guessing until the very end as to which way he will turn.

Tucker radiates a vulnerability and innocence, and Lucas is suitably charismatic as a sexual predator who feeds on his lovers' inexperience. In many ways, the film is the antithesis of the modern Hollywood thriller there are no last-minute twists, no action setpieces and a resolutely downbeat ending.

Dive into The Deep End and you really will be holding your breath for all 101 minutes.

Out! rating: 8 out of 10