Swimfan - La piscina della paura

Have to admit that I enjoy watching the infamous teen horror films. Don't get me wrong, they probably won't be nominated for any Academy Awards, but they're not a waste of a movie ticket either.

Both Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen carry the film well. Although much of the plot remains predictable, with a lot of help from the trailers, there are still a few plot twists that will keep viewers interested. Madison Bell (Christensen) is the new student who gets what she wants, at any cost. Obession can be a very interesting and intriguing game as she sets her sights on Ben Cronin (Bradford). However, Ben already has the perfect life as a high school student (a chance at Stanford, the perfect girl and a solid swimming career. Throw a monkey wrench into the equation, and Ben's world spins out of control.

A good movie to see on a date, or if City by the Sea isn't appealing. Leave the youngsters at home on this one.

Ben Cronin (Bradford) is one of those high schoolers that almost had it all: plenty of good friends, a sweet girlfriend (Appleby), and the swimming skills of a champion. His life and success track are scrambled, however, with the introduction to Madison Bell (Christensen), a vixen who becomes smitten with him. Madison seduces Ben in the pool one night, and while he feels guilty after a session of horizontal watersports, Masison goes Glen Close in Fatal Attraction crazy when he turns her down, and the movie starts to turn.

From the previews, Swimfan looked like a bad movie, an "Attraction" set in high school suburbia with Michael Douglas' role as a swim fanatic instead of a businessman. While the last third of the picture veers off heavily into the land of the un-yielding female revenge cliche, the first two-thirds of the film are actually a pretty provocative, tight character study with issues of infidelity and confidence. Christensen, who made a startling breakout role as a judge's intoxicated daughter in 2000's Traffic, plays it rather straight and sensual, which gives the film a boost, until her over-the-top climax, and shows that, in a B-movie sort of showcase, she can hold her own. B-

I would like to say that this movie hasn't got many reasons to be as good as it is, because it is a teen/twentysomething play on a formula that's kind of, or for lack of a better phrase truly, been done to death. Fatal Attraction movies, while occasionally pulling at least one different trick out of their hat, are always the same, that's why Michael Douglas is in 95% of them. However, it's extremely well made by director John Polson and well-acted by the young cast, particularly Traffic's Erika Christensen, who shines as Madison Bell, the obsessive swim fan of the title.

The story deals with Ben Cronin, a high school senior who's life is going pretty well, as the hero's usually is at the start of these pictures, he has a lot of good friends, he has a girlfriend Amy (Shiri Appleby) who is as sweet as apple pie, and he's on the way to a swimming scholarship to Stanford. However, all of that changes once he encounters Madison Bell, the seductive new girl in town. He only wants to be friends with her, but after they have a one night stand, she becomes more obsessive, stalking him, ruining every aspect of his life, and generally acting like a nuisance. I suppose I don't have to say that because that is pretty much how a Fatal Attraction picture works.

What makes this movie work is that it is well done, and it is as creepy as most FA clones need to be if they expect to work. Plus, the three leads are all very good, albeit this film belongs to Erika Christensen, who does a pretty good job of stealing the movie.

Watched this movie recently with my roommates and we honestly had a good time. The nostalgia factor definitely helped as the storyline really doesn't hold up that much but I'd still recommend it for a chill night in we friends. Also whatever happened to that guy? It seems he was everywhere for a hot second and then completely vanished!

The character Madison is interesting but when the story comes to the end, everything turned so quick and seems to get more and more nonsense. The power of Madison is overwhelming. She knows everything, she can go anywhere. At last, she, a young girl, killed 2 police officers! Going back to the swimming pool with Amy seems to be too dramatic and comedic. The acting skills of Erika Christensen is impressive. She shows inner anger but lack of psychic complications. When facing the "truth" that she was not loved by Ben, she did not show much "lost" by her eyes contacts and facial expression, instead, the editing did. And this is what the mood is built up by editing throughout the film.