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The Swimmer Reviews

1968

70
from 1521 members

John Cheever's misery in suburbia short stories, brief and to the point, have always proven excellent TV fodder. Director Frank Perry's The Swimmer, adapted for the screen by Perry's wife Eleanor, is a rare, and for the most part successful, attempt at offering a Cheever story in feature-length form. Dressed only in swimming .. Read more

Starring	Burt Lancaster, Janice Rule, Diana Muldaur, Kim Hunter
Director	Frank Perry
Genres	Drama

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Critic's review of The Swimmer
View all (1)
- A largely loony but oddly compulsive allegory, taken from a John Cheever story, in which Lancaster, clad only in... read more on Time Out
- 45654
- - Time Out
  - 04 Nov 2008 at 00:15
Write your own review »
Most helpful member's review of The Swimmer
View all members' reviews (25)
- - 9
  - 0
  Not Waving but Drowning ...
  
  A middle aged man, bronzed and fit and clad only in swimming trunks appears at a poolside on a sunny summer afternoon. He is warmly greeted by the family ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 327058
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  
  [Highly rated reviewer]
  - moviemole
  - 25 reviews
  - Chichester
  - 15 Mar 2005 at 11:19
Most recent members' reviews of The Swimmer
View all members' reviews (25)
- - 0
  - 0
  Watch the Levi's Ad instead
  
  A bizarre and very stilted period piece. The acting is very self-conscious and the narrative feels like what it is - an interesting short story stretched out ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1057586
- - a customer
  - 01 Nov 2011 at 13:02
- - 4
  - 0
  A very underrated film that critiques middle-class suburban life
  
  The Swimmer is a 1960s drama set in the picturesque hills of upstate New York and Connecticut. Starring Burt Lancaster as Ned Merrill, a man going through a ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 860699
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - Daniel Pollard
  - Manchester, England
  - 12 Feb 2010 at 13:51
- - 2
  - 0
  the deep end
  
  This is one of those great films from the end of the 60's that could never be made now, it's just too strange, but strangely great. Burt Lancaster in ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 849939
- - a customer
  - Glasgow
  - 16 Jan 2010 at 17:11
- - 2
  - 0
  The swimmer
  
  As the film begins, it is only a few minutes before you realize that you have a met a man who appears to have everything. His body language, his facial ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 830507
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - ordinaryjo
  - 56 reviews
  - Enfield
  - 12 Nov 2009 at 20:41
- - 0
  - 0
  That's Acting
  
  Fantastically played and the writing is genius. Moving. Worrying, even. And remark, o moderns, the space given to the character: nothing here is extraneous, ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 769713
- - Boatthink
  - 76 reviews
  - Burton
  - 11 Jun 2009 at 17:37
- - 0
  - 0
  Strangely memorable
  
  No preconceptions about this film, not even sure now why it was on my list. It felt like a mainstream film trying to be challenging - a sort of tame ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 763636
- - a customer
  - Glossop
  - 28 May 2009 at 18:24
- - 0
  - 0
  Weird
  
  Interesting film illustrating the grotesque and shallow lives of these wealthy Americans. Odd film, but haunting.
  
  Report this review
- 744811
- - a customer
  - Exeter
  - 18 Apr 2009 at 11:38
- - 0
  - 0
  A total one-off.....
  
  ...hypnotic,gorgeously filmed,utterly 1960's & quite unlike anything else you will ever see. Whether you will like it or not is almost besides the point... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 698610
- - bennyprofane
  - 3 reviews
  - Cheltenham
  - 30 Jan 2009 at 20:16
- - 0
  - 0
  swimming to perdition
  
  First of all it has to be said that Burt Lancaster, who is never off the screen, looks wonderfully fit and trim in his swimming shorts. That is his body does... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 685622
- - a customer
  - London
  - 11 Jan 2009 at 15:19
- - 0
  - 1
  The Swimmer
  
  Very dated and disappointing adaptation of the short story.
  
  Report this review
- 586859
- - a customer
  - Glasgow
  - 23 Jun 2008 at 15:58
View all members' reviews (25)

- - 9
  - 0
  Not Waving but Drowning ...
  
  A middle aged man, bronzed and fit and clad only in swimming trunks appears at a poolside on a sunny summer afternoon. He is warmly greeted by the family ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 327058
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  
  [Highly rated reviewer]
  - moviemole
  - 25 reviews
  - Chichester
  - 15 Mar 2005 at 11:19
- - 4
  - 0
  The wet way home
  
  A great premise that has been spoofed and copied but this is the original and best.
  
  To swim home using all the neighbourhood pools on route simple ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 10600
- - a customer
  - Norfolk, England
  - 15 Jul 2004 at 08:18
- - 4
  - 0
  Ahead of its time
  
  A very un-American film, nicely paced and subtly acted, that avoids cliches and does not insult the viewers intelligence. Wobbly camerawork and cheesy ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 14826
- - a customer
  - Jersey
  - 16 Aug 2004 at 10:30
- - 4
  - 0
  A very underrated film that critiques middle-class suburban life
  
  The Swimmer is a 1960s drama set in the picturesque hills of upstate New York and Connecticut. Starring Burt Lancaster as Ned Merrill, a man going through a ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 860699
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - Daniel Pollard
  - Manchester, England
  - 12 Feb 2010 at 13:51
- - 2
  - 0
  great film
  
  i saw this film without knowing what the story was all about. It made the experience even more powerful.
  
  Strange, slightly surealist film, about ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 54581
- - a customer
  - london
  - 21 Nov 2004 at 21:39
- - 2
  - 0
  deep end
  
  seriously high-brow business class movie. magnificent performance from burt. spendid scenario..... dive in...
  
  Report this review
- 176197
- - ben v
  - london
  - 20 Nov 2005 at 15:19
- - 2
  - 0
  A True One-Off
  
  It's better that you know as little as possible about The Swimmer before you see it. This story of a businessman who decides to swim home through miles of ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 337022
- - bobbyperu
  - Merseyside
  - 07 Jun 2005 at 11:08
- - 2
  - 0
  The swimmer
  
  As the film begins, it is only a few minutes before you realize that you have a met a man who appears to have everything. His body language, his facial ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 830507
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - ordinaryjo
  - 56 reviews
  - Enfield
  - 12 Nov 2009 at 20:41
- - 2
  - 0
  the deep end
  
  This is one of those great films from the end of the 60's that could never be made now, it's just too strange, but strangely great. Burt Lancaster in ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 849939
- - a customer
  - Glasgow
  - 16 Jan 2010 at 17:11
- - 1
  - 0
  Powerful film, thought provoking
  
  This film is worth a watch, a classic. It's quite a powerful movie. A perceptive film about middle class America. It might look a bit dated now - I would ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 399780
- - a customer
  - East Anglia
  - 07 Jan 2007 at 12:20

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Buy from Amazon.co.uk

- - Buy
- The Swimmer
  
  John Cheever's misery in suburbia short stories, brief and to the point, have always proven excellent TV fodder. Director Frank Perry's The Swimmer, adapted for the screen by Perry's wife Eleanor, is a rare, and for the most part successful, attempt at offering a Cheever story in feature-length ...