Swimming

Rating:
Summary: Another bland teen movie...
Review: "Swimming" only succeeded in one area: showing the boredom of small town life. However, the acting ranged from over-the-top charicatures (Nicola and the Hawaiian boyfriend) to bland underacting (Lauren Ambrose & the rest of the cast). While Ambrose's attempt was noble, for the most part she gave an one-dimensional performance. The directing was okay if somewhat hoaxy and limited at times (I guess I just wanted more). The writing was probably the most horrible part to the movie. There were so many plot holes that caused me to ask, "What was the point of that?" In the end, "Swimming" is an okay movie to waste sometime with, but don't expect to find any meaning or profound performances. "Swimming" is just like Myrtle Beach, nothing really happens.

Rating:
Summary: Another bland teen movie...
Review: "Swimming" only succeeded in one area: showing the boredom of small town life. However, the acting ranged from over-the-top charicatures (Nicola and the Hawaiian boyfriend) to bland underacting (Lauren Ambrose & the rest of the cast). While Ambrose's attempt was noble, for the most part she gave an one-dimensional performance. The directing was okay if somewhat hoaxy and limited at times (I guess I just wanted more). The writing was probably the most horrible part to the movie. There were so many plot holes that caused me to ask, "What was the point of that?" In the end, "Swimming" is an okay movie to waste sometime with, but don't expect to find any meaning or profound performances. "Swimming" is just like Myrtle Beach, nothing really happens.

Rating:
Summary: What A Great Movie
Review: Film has a quality unlike any other medium to catch and hold life. There is something about the grain in the picture that feels so much more realistic than video. It's one of the reasons I have a natural love of film and why I love films like Robert Siegel's (The Line) SWIMMING. A literate and beautiful postcard of one summer in the life of Frankie Wheeler (Lauren Ambrose, Can't Hardly Wait).

Frankie has lived in Myrtle Beach for her entire life. She's left it only once to visit her parents who had moved to Arizona to retire. Her parents used to run a restaurant that catered to the tourists who crowd the beaches in the summer. When they retired they left the restaurant to Frankie and her brother Neil (Josh Pais, A Beautiful Mind), whom keep it running 'til this day.

Frankie is the kind of girl whose kind of shy and introverted and a tad bit homely. Which makes her best friend Nicola (Jennifer Dundas, Changing Lanes) the exact opposite. Nicola is outgoing and kind of sexy but she cares deeply for Frankie, and is willing to spite others who may be out to lose her friend. But when Josee (Joelle Carter, High Fidelity), a new girl blows into town and starts to get closer to Frankie, it test the two best friends loyalty.

This is Ambrose's movie. She embodies the right characteristics to play Frankie with such sweet and strong confidence. She commands the movie without trying too hard. She grows and changes without fireworks and `beat over your head' sentiment. How does she make it look so easy?

There is not one moment you can isolate out of this movie and point to as the reason why this movie works because her performance is that good. You don't give a damn about a plot holes, silly dialogue or various subplots that go nowhere, because you naturally care for Frankie as a human, not just as some film character. You want to see her grow, you want to see her smile, and you just want to be there to watch as her life unfolds.

SWIMMING doesn't attempt to give you clear-cut excuses for what's going on? I liked that. I liked not having to figure out why a minor character had to talk to an invisible guy. I liked that Frankie and Josee's relationship isn't quite clear. I like that the movie just let little moments happen, with absolutely no need for stunning revelations.

...

What a great movie SWIMMING is. I Highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Slow but good
Review: I agree with the others and will say that at times the film was a little boring but I thought it was one of the few recent good indepedent films. I thought it was a good take on what happens in real life.

Rating:
Summary: Relaxed...
Review: I loved this movie. The other reviewers are right, I guess the story could be seen as boring. But if you care about the characters, then it's not. It's a typical teenage movie in a sense that the crisis is a relationship struggle which seems petty to everyone else but to a self-involved teen is important. So there's no graphic violence or sex, just relationships. The characters are not typical teenage-movie stereotypes, though.

The ambience of the film is great. It's got a laid-back feel and strange characters. Like I said, the main plot is about a relationship, but I love the scenery, it reminded me of family vacations past.

This is not a life-changing movie. Don't expect to get shaken up, and if you really need directors to prode you to love their characters then you'll be dissappointed. It's an extrememly well-made, pleasant diversion and character-study. It's got great songs, too, btw. Highly recommended. At least rent it.

Rating:
Summary: Never seemed to go anywhere...
Review: I really don't like Lauren Ambrose. I feel that she always has the same expression on her face, eyes wide open, appearing as if she is sick or scared all of the time.

I thought that I would maybe like this movie because the preview looked interesting. Frankie (Lauren Ambrose) is the main character, and she co-owns a restaurant with her brother, but he does most of the work, and she waitresses. She doesn't have a car, hangs around with the same girl (Nicola) all of the time, and basically wanders through her life, which isn't that interesting to begin with. The thing is, with a main character that is shown alone so often throughout the movie, we should be able to tell what she is feeling on her face if she is to carry the movie, but I couldn't.

This new girl comes into town, and Frankie seems to be very taken by her, and vice versa. They click, Nicola becomes jealous, and we start to wonder if there are feelings that Nicola has for Frankie, because of how strongly her negative feelings are for the "new girl." I also started to wonder if Frankie was going to experience anything with the new girl because of all of the tension that seems to go on. Franie then meets a guy who lives in his van with two dogs and sells Tie Dye t-shirts, and everything changes.

It appears that there are a lot of people that are using each other in this film. I gave it two stars but there were some interesting things that "could have" come from it, but, nothing really did, and the ending just sort of "happened." I understand that there are some movies that are just supposed to show you a "slice of life," but I can't even consider this being a coming of age movie, because the character didn't really seem to learn any life altering lessons, or change anything about her life that she was unhappy with.

Rating:
Summary: Bland Movie with No Point
Review: I wouldn't call this an awful movie, but it certainly is not worth your time. You'll get absolutely nothing out of watching it. There really is no story, the characters are boring and have already been done to death, and the movie goes nowhere. The only positive thing about this movie is the setting. A relaxing, summer feeling was truly captured, but it's still not enough to save you from complete boredom.

Rating:
Summary: The Ambrose Flick
Review: Ok, to start, this movie is just pretty good. It's nothing spectacular, that's for sure. It's a bit quiet, and you'll probably find yourself asking why some of the characters even exist, but one thing you won't ask is why is Lauren Ambrose headlining? This is really her movie. If nothing else in this film works she certainly does. I've loved her ever since Can't Hardly Wait and she is really the only reason why I like this movie as much as I do.

Rating:
Summary: The Ambrose Flick
Review: Ok, to start, this movie is just pretty good. It's nothing spectacular, that's for sure. It's a bit quiet, and you'll probably find yourself asking why some of the characters even exist, but one thing you won't ask is why is Lauren Ambrose headlining? This is really her movie. If nothing else in this film works she certainly does. I've loved her ever since Can't Hardly Wait and she is really the only reason why I like this movie as much as I do.

Rating:
Summary: Not just another teen movie
Review: Swimming (as in the old saying 'sink or swim') is about exactly that. Lauren Ambrose's character is a shy, quiet girl whose friends and family are so self-absorbed that they don't even notice how they're taking advantage of her. She's only beginning to notice it herself. When a quirky-yet-compelling guy shows up selling tie-dyes out of his van in front of the family restaurant, she has to figure out her priorities and do some soul-searching about the people in her life and what they mean to/for her.

One of the nicest features of this film is that it's more serious and doesn't have the forced light-hearted mood of most teen movies. There have been a ton of coming-of-age movies and Swimming doesn't break any new ground plotwise, but it is a very good execution of an old theme. All the cast members -especially Ambrose- turn in excellent performances and the direction and editing are just right. This is a mellow movie that's best enjoyed on a quiet night and in an an introspective mood.