The Deep End of the Ocean

(Columbia Tristar)

This adaptation of Jacquelyn Mitchard's bestseller rides on Stephen Schiff's screenplay, Ulu Grossbard's restrained direction, and Michelle Pfeiffer's unnerving performance as a frowzy, beleaguered housewife whose three-year-old son Ben gets lost in a crowded Chicago hotel lobby. Years pass -- then Ben shows up and things get complicated. There's a genuine emotional power here, but for all that this film never gets very deep.