Well-acted but pedestrian TV-like melodrama what what consitutes a family, or sociology versus biology in the kinship debate.

The Deep End of the Ocean is unconvincing from start to finish.

The script is as oblivious as the biological parents, almost completely ignoring the trauma of the father who raised the boy in good faith from 3 to 12.

The subject is poignant and suspenseful, but the treatment is drab and uninvolving despite competent acting and a few well-crafted scenes.