Head Above Water

Harvey Keitel is amusingly dorky as a Milquetoast judge who comes home to find that his young wife’s ex-lover has mysteriously died in their bed. But as his efforts to dump the body grow desperate, this sap grows sinister, until you’re sure he’s the killer. Is the little woman (Cameron Diaz) next? Director Jim Wilson builds the suspense against an ironic sun-splashed, seaside backdrop. Though it played briefly in theaters (after an HBO run), this cool black comedy is neither manic nor menacing enough to fill a movie screen. Head Above Water is a low-key approach to domestic noir plays much better at home. B-