The Swimmer (1968)

Absolutely Brilliant!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

I had no idea they'd made a movie of The Swimmer. But I'll watch anything with Burt Lancaster in it. My goodness, Lancaster is mid-50s and he's in great shape. He took swimming lessons for this role but he looks like a complete natural. Although over-baked in some regards - the gushy music, the ending, the zooms, the montages - this still drew me in. Since nobody else has mentioned her I have to give props to Janice Rule's performance as Shirley. That was the most affecting scene to me. She was dynamite.

This powerful film, had a huge effect on me, when i first saw it.I actually thought it was about swimming.Lancaster was made to play this part, and boy is he good in this fine work.A story of someone in a world of his own, who has blocked out reality, is superbly done, and with a great script. A film which hits the viewer like a ton of bricks at its end,and makes it compelling viewing. Avoid reading spoilers, as it will wreck your enjoyment of this excellent film.

It seems to me there's a story not being told here that drove this movie. It was very well made, very sentimental, the music was especially beautiful, and I liked Burt Lancaster's performance much better than usual. But I did get a tiny bit bored because it never revealed the story. Was he successful at one time in some business, and then failed? Did he marry for money, and loved someone else? Was he feeling sentimental regret because he loved his wife and family but failed as a husband and father, and if so, why? Or was he feeling regret for something entirely different? I just couldn't figure it out.This film is very unique in that it is the only film I've ever seen that I can say I really liked a lot, but can someone please tell me what the hell it was about?

At the beginning of The Swimmer, we see a man climb up a rocky hill, duck beneath the trees, trot across a lawn and dive into a beautiful swimming pool. He does a few laps, is handed a drink and is welcomed by acquaintances from years past. We know nothing about this man, not where he came from nor who he is (other than the fact that he's Burt Lancaster and that he's in amazing shape). Everything seems ideal; the sun and sky, the green grass and trees. It's a perfect day for an 'explorer' to create a day-long adventure from this pool back to his own home across the county. Ned's journey is not as grand as Candide or Huck Finn or Gulliver. No, his is a simple plan - he will swim from pool to pool across the valley until he's back home, where his wife is waiting and his girls are playing tennis. It seems like the ambition of a simple-minded dreamer, yet by the end of the first Act, the viewer knows that something is wrong. We learn about Ned's life at every stop in his journey. The clues come as quickly as a muttered word and leave as fast as a furrowed brow. Ned makes a lot of promises he won't keep and struggles to keep his facts straight from one pool to the next. His memories are blurry and the path soon forces cracks in the armor of the make-believe world he seems to live within. The Swimmer reminded me of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? yet doesn't tie together the pieces as neatly as did that Mike Nichols' masterpiece. The Swimmer, in fact, answers almost no questions by the time it has concluded, yet inspires the viewer to wonder what was actually real in the preceding 95 minutes. Lancaster, whom I loved in Elmer Gantry, was never better than in this film. He is in every scene of the picture and carries it well. Don't be fooled by the two-minute trailer that looks like something Austin Powers would have found groovy back in 1968. This is a serious film and a thoroughly engaging one; the type that no studio would touch in 2015. Although if they did, I'd pay to see Robert Downey, Jr. reprise this character. Definitely worth a look!