THE SWIMMER (1968)

All I can say is  wow  after this one with Burt Lancaster take risks  as a performer  and for story content.    THE SWIMMER (1968)  Directed by Frank Perry  is  a  stylish  journey of  Man: in this case  Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) to ‘swim home” in his neighbor’s pools which are all in a basic line some distance apart: one summer day rural Connecticut.

The Journey consists of old  lovers and acquaintances from a life that slowly reveals itself as being not  quite what one thinks.   It is a bitter trip  filled with physical toil, isolation, lost love, rivalries, unfulfilled moments and  brilliant ecstasies.

I would  suggest its a  “Guy” film in that it  examines aging process in a  different light. Directed  with some ‘sixties” style  with  zooms, closeups,   slow mo  running in the  grass  filed shots all set to quirky pastoral score by Marvin Hamlisch.     The source material was a 12 page  short story by John Cheever who has been featured in many magazines such as  Esquire who often  wrote of  nostalgia of  a vanishing life and  alienation.

Its a quirky picture which I think fits right beside Mike Nichols Directed  THE GRADUATE (1967)  as a  portrait of male changing roles in the 1960’s.

Hard  to see  but worth the  time.