Rating: 
Summary: An inspired adaptation
Review: "The Swimmer" is Sidney Pollack's brilliant adaptation of John Cheever's great short story of the same name. Neddy Merrill, perfectly portrayed by past-his-prime Burt Lancaster, is ostensibly a successful businessman and family man. But, as the film progresses, something darker begins to be hinted at, and then begins to emerge. Not all is as it seems in this surreal story. As Neddy makes his way across his suburban world--via his neighbors' swimming pools--the drinking and partying become less pleasant, to say the least. When he (and the viewer) reach the harrowing ending, we realize that the fears and dreads that plague Neddy stem from his denial of his reality.
Underneath the plot of "The Swimmer" is an allegory about alcoholism. The drinking that goes on in every scene is the comfort that Neddy seeks to conceal his failures and avoid his responsibilities. By the end, we can safely assume that Neddy's alcoholism destroyed his finances and his family, and he just cannot face up to it. Burt Lancaster's performance ranges from the happy-go-lucky, to the completely mystified, to abject fear and pathos. Pollack's understated touch only intensifies Lancaster's performance. This is as important a movie to watch, as the story is to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Swimming in paranoia.
Review: A surreal film about one man's descent into shock, paranoia and despair. Burt Lancaster is riveting in his portrayal of a wealthy executive who cannot (or will not) face the facts of his family's disintegration. Lancaster's image as a macho guy is turned upside down in this film, as we see him in a vulnerable, almost pathetic state by the film's end. Clad only in swimtrunks (or less) for the entire film, his character is metaphorically naked, defenseless against an onslaught of jaded ex-lovers, uncaring acquaintances, and hostile enemies. An odd, arty film, outside the main of Lancaster's other work but well worth viewing for his excellent acting and the powerful message of the film.
Rating:
Summary: The minority opinion, based on incomplete data
Review: After scanning the editorial and customer reviews here, I prepare to duck from the rotten tomatoes about to be thrown at me.I've seen this film twice or, rather, tried to watch it twice. At age 20-25, I tried watching it, and found it to be a tedious exhibition of meaningless repetition. I fell asleep before I could get to the allegedly startling ending that gives it all meaning. A few months back, after hearing about the film-redeeming ending, I tried again. Thirty minutes in, I was dozing off again. This is the only movie that ever did this to me. I decided to give it some chance, and skipped to the ending, to see what all the fuss is about. The ending seemed to be a non-sequitir, and shed no meaning, for me, on the beginning of the movie. Of course, this means that I've never watched the entire film. But, I am a Burt Lancaster fan, and a very patient movie-viewer. For a film to twice fail to capture my interest, that's bad enough, for me, to write a review such as this. I give it three stars only because I know it is well-made and widely admired, but it will not grab everyone's interest.
Rating: 
Summary: LSD without the flashbacks.
Review: Ah, the Sixties... America's longtime history of art intertwining with psychedelia starts here. Listening to the musical artists of the time -- Laura Nyro, Joe Cocker, old Heart records -- one wonders if the rampant search for inner meaning in an increasingly meaningless society ever made it's way to the silver screen. Well, wonder no more, gentle movieviewer! The Swimmer is proof positive that directors, too, were coked to the gills. Set amidst a disgustingly suburban upper-middle class vista, Burt Lancaster (a man who's entire physique immediately brings the name "Stretch Armstrong" to mind) decides to mark his return home by 'swimming' across town. No, it's not Venice; he accomplishes his task by taking a dip in every pool in the borough. Along the way, we discover that Lancaster has shafted pretty much everyone in the film, literally or otherwise, and the cinematography takes decidedly bizarre turns during his descent from jet-setting, womanizing capitalist to pathetic, obsessive-compulsive freak. The dialogue is downright absurd at times -- "What happened to the sun? There's no more warmth in it!" -- and the cameramen seem to be completely stoned, especially during Janet Langard's soliloquey about her childhood crush on Lancaster, spoken from behind Lancaster's head, behind foliage. As the strichnine poisoning slowly begins to take this acidtrip film down horrible paths, we're not surprised, or even moved, when a thoroughly defeated Lancaster receives what he sorely deserves: a swift boot in the rear.
Rating: 
Summary: a fine acheevement
Review: An interesting but flawed film tracing man's journey from the foetus to the grave, using the unusual premise of one man swimming a succession of his neighbours' backyard pools to reach home. Previous correspondents have set out the details of the story superbly, so no need to here, but my reading of the film differs slightly.
The film appears to be more about the struggle to hold one's head above water, in a metaphoric sense, than about Ned Merrill's state of mind (alcoholism is the predominant theory). In other words, our attempts to delay the inevitability of death are gradually revealed in Ned's odyssey, as he battles hostility (from the mother of a deceased friend), rejection (from a jilted lover), barely concealed scorn (by resentful & snobbish neighbours), humiliation (attempting to cross a busy highway clad only in swimming trunks) etc. Each episode pieces together a picture of us, swimming upstream and against the tide of time, despairing of ever reaching our goals.
Ned's odyssey falls at the final hurdle - he has run out of time, as time runs out eventually for us all.
A bleak interpretation perhaps, and maybe nothing like what the film-makers, or John Cheever, comtemplated.... but.
Rating:
Summary: challenging aesthetics
Review: an unforgettable film.
it defies all explanation and remains a hidden classic art film.
comparisons to the twilight zone seem to do it little justice, not that i am knocking the twilight zone at all.
but perry's film is far more complex and multi latered than that.
and lancaster;
the older he got the more risks he took and this is a brauva performance.
we see his world slowly decaying. we know whats coming, yet you will probabaly still walk away mumbling incoherently to yourself for a few hours afterwords.
but,if you're looking for a fast paced film, look elsewhere. this film challenges you and from what ive seen of some of the reivews it was a bit too challenging for some (right-o new jersey?), but if you are prepared to reconsider your views on what film is and isnt, then be prepared to be walloped.
Rating:
Summary: "When Lucinda Asked where he was going...
Review: he said he was going to swim home" - John Cheever's "The Swimmer", is a powerful and sadly underrated film and one of John Cheever's jewels in a collection of masterful short stories. A pillar of success he seems at first, still strong and capable at 55 and ready to conquer his county by swimming the long stretch home. This stretch is crossed by highways and public places but the majority of his journey are the pools of his affluent neighbors, and he invades these trophy nests in a near naked state, like a golden Olympian. It is a peak performance for the aging Lancaster, an actor who was famous for his bravado to become a man who loses the battle in the upstream currents of life and to find no redemption at the end. What at first seems like a silly flight of fancy (by one of their own) is thrown in question when we see how outside the boundaries of their social world he has fallen... his illusion of privilege is seriously chipped away at when he is leered at a public pool which for him was like "a stagnat bend in the Lucinda River" and even Lucinda is a figment of his imagination - as his wife Lucinda has long left him and we soon realize what going home means. This film is not just a small slice of a bygone Americana and one mans fall from grace, it sends a beacon across our landscape and shows the cracks in America's (fragile) foundation built like Ned Merrills life - on dreams and myths.
Rating:
Summary: This movie makes me want to swim all the way home.
Review: I am a collector of Burt Lancaster's films, and I think The Swimmer is at the top of my list. I have seen it serveral times on television and have been unsuccessful in obtaining this video. I have ordered it again today and I might be lucky in receiving it. Burt is in great form, both in his acting and his physical form. From the Beginning to the end, from his strength to his weakness, I will never tire of this film.
Rating:
Summary: Boring? The slammer ending will change your opinion.
Review: I bought this video used for [cheap] on a whim, never having seen it before, reasoning that the pretty blonde on the cover would be worth the price even if the rest of the movie was a dud. Was I ever right to buy it! The story seemed incredibly boring at first, but I persevered, and when the final scene came, it was a slammer! That's when the viewer suddenly realizes that everything that has been viewed up to that point is to be reconsidered in a much different light. That's when I watched it again. And again and again. Each viewing uncovers more hints as to what was really going on, especially Ned's comment that if you believe in something hard enough, then it becomes real to you. Note the significance of the one person's name that Ned forgets, and that the closer he gets to home, the more unfriendly the people seem to become. I wouldn't say the film has become one of my favorites, but it's a good one to pull out every once in a while to experience again. I liked the feel of the film altogether: Ned's creative brainstorm in the beginning, his optimism and contagious enthusiasm, his suave demeanor and initially positive interaction with everyone, the nostalgic sadness about old friends and rediscovering a cart from childhood, the ambience of swimming pools and upper middle class society, and pretty Janet Landgard (the blonde on the cover) running about in a blue two-piece swimsuit. The film does have some weird '60s touches and it gets progressively sad as the story evolves, but it's an unforgettable movie worth seeing at least once, especially in the summer, especially if any of its attributes appeal to you. There are also several important psychological and social issues brought up in the film. I later read Cheever's original short story, and I think the film is an improvement that fills in many gaps and human touches whereas the written story seemed like a brief, sterile synopsis of the film.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I came accross this film on TCM one evening. The scene was Burt Lancaster walking to a pool and diving in for a swim. This was early in the film, and I started poking fun at what I thought would be a corny film, with no intention of watching the rest of it. An hour and a half later my wife and I sat watching the final scene, absolutely captivated by this film. Like some other reviewers, I can't begin to recount the complexities of this film. Definitely worth viewing.
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