This is a review of the movie The Swimmer
I go through kicks all the time where I will watch a bunch of movies with one actor. Burt Lancaster was a kick I went through recently and I had some trouble finding some of his movies. The Swimmer was a movie I had trouble finding, but boy, was it worth it. A quick 90 minute watch makes The Swimmer a must see.
The Story
Burt Lancaster plays the part of Ned Merrill, the main character in a John Cheever short story. I won’t bore you with the background of the short story, but you need to learn about it after you watch the movie.
Lancaster appears seemingly out of nowhere on a warm, spring day. His destination is a friend’s pool. Stepping out of the woods, Lancaster dresses in a simple swimsuit of the day. As he engages in small talk you begin to feel something is not quite right. Before you can deduce anything, Lancaster announces he is going to swim across the county to his own house. He plots his course and takes off going from pool to pool. Along the way he interacts with people, you learn more and you begin to feel.
The Personal Feelings
The process of learning about Lancaster’s character is ultimately very personal if you are a man. The situations he finds himself in, the self delusional he performs and the people in the crowd have a way of making his story very personal. Every man should feel some part of Lancaster’s story as he travels across the county.
My wife watched the movie and enjoyed it, but wasn’t grabbed emotionally.
The big payoff is the end. Yes, you can probably see it coming, but along the way you’re going to feel:
- Elation
- Anger
- embarrassment
- Self awareness
- Sympathy
The filming is sweeping, but you will pay attention to the moods through the cinematography. This is well done.
The Swimmer is a movie that draws you in with quirkiness, but keeps you in with heartfelt emotion and drama.