In 'The Swimmer', Burt Lancaster's character appears as an oddball: a rich man who decides to walk across his home county, visiting his equally weathly friends and taking a swim in each of their pools. At first it seems that the movie is taking a dig at his acquanitances who, in spite of their wealth, are unable to take simple pleasures in their surroundings; but the wider point seems peculiar as very few people actually have the option to do what our protogonist is doing. Indeed, when he starts hitting, rather creepily, on his former baby-sitter (who he chances to meet on the way) it might appear that the screenwriters have a very strange idea of "the good life" they seem to be recommending. Only gradually does the real point become clear: the character's life (his work, his family, his other relationships) has imploded, and his trek is a fantasy he has constructed to avoid facing up to the truth. As commonly in films of this era, the soundtrack in unsubtle, and some of the dialogue feels formulaic. More importantly, the idea of "swimming home" is too artificial for us to wholly believe in before it is revealed as a sign of madness and denial. But the film works better than you might suppose as Lancaster's strong performance adds credibility and humanity to the story that it might lacked without it.
Review of The Swimmer
