TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

The real emotional impact of the film lies in the candid interviews with Crowhurst's wife, Clare, and his son, Simon, both of whom are clearly still haunted by Crowhurst and his fateful voyage.

Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

Deep Water is a movie that will connect to anyone whose private fantasies and creative plots have landed them in hot water.

San Francisco Chronicle by G. Allen Johnson

One of this year's better studies of the human soul.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

A spooky, moving documentary.

Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan

This was a story that made front pages in its day but has been largely lost to history, and now is brought bracingly and compellingly back to life.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

A compelling, well-researched, beautifully assembled document.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

Disturbing, unnerving and wire-to-wire involving, Deep Water is the story of a dream that got so wildly out of hand that it ensnared the dreamer in an intricate trap of his own devising.

Austin Chronicle by Toddy Burton

It’s hard to imagine a time when the sea bore a sense of adventure close to outer space.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

The story of Donald Crowhurst is not one of remarkable courage or remarkable endurance. But it is remarkable.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Deep Water is a documentary, but it's also one part adventure film, one part Greek tragedy, and one part meditation on the role of the "hero" in modern society.

The New York Times

Again and again you want to shout at the screen: “Turn back. All will be forgiven.” This tale of risk, though, ends not with man conquering nature but in calamitous failure.

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

A stunning documentary that not only beautifully elucidates a nearly forgotten incident but touches on crucial themes involving isolation, sanity, self-worth, impossible dreams, the nature of heroism and limits of human endurance.

New York Daily News by Jack Mathews

This fine documentary mixes archival footage, interviews with the sailor's family and sponsors, and - most amazingly - excerpts from the film and audiotape diary kept by Crowhurst.

L.A. Weekly by Scott Foundas

It is the point -- and the power -- of Deep Water that the vast, unknowable fathoms of the sea are rivaled only by those of the human psyche.

Variety by Deborah Young

As it explores the limits of human endurance, the pic should suck even landlubbers into a whirlpool of gripping adventure, overblown ambitions and sheer human folly.

Empire by Anna Smith

A sad story, but well told, with respect for its subject and an eye for the Shakespearian tragedy in the tale.

Village Voice

Co-directors Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell have done a commendable job of making Deep Water . . . well, not boring.