Swimmers

Despite the best efforts of Hoolywood...you occasionally still see a compelling drama, and this is one. Swimmers reveals some very universal themes, familiar to most of us who have ever lost a job, had a sick child or difficult relationships (surely this is nearly everyone!) The small town setting is wonderful and the economic plight of the oysterman is painful to watch...the disappearing way of life that is so common in many rural areas.

I was stunned by the actors performances and the beauty of the setting juxtaposed with the pain in their lives. REally, a great story, with a lot to say about us.

Oh yeah....Cherry Jones (2005 Tony Award Winner!!!) was awesome in this film.....but she was NOT the best performance! This one is worth your time and effort.

I saw this just-about-perfect film when it screened at the Maryland Film Festival in May, 2005. Set in a small town, it tells the story of a Chesapeake Bay waterman's family as they pass through a crisis. The movie is superbly cast, with both famous (Cherry Jones) and unknown actors giving fine, nuanced performances. The Chesapeake Bay currently suffers significant ecological degradation from farm runoff, industrial pollution, and other factors. This has severely impacted crab, oyster, and fish populations and hence the livelihood of traditional Bay water-men. It is against this backdrop of economic struggle that the movie's story is told. Already poor and unable to afford health insurance, the family is pushed past the breaking point when their young daughter suffers a swimming injury and needs surgery.

"I'm trying to hold a family together..." speaks Cherry Jones as Julia to her husband, Robert Knott, who plays the part of Will, in this compelling story of a waterman's family on Chesapeake Bay's Eastern Shore. Excellent performances from both actors, as well as from Tara Gallagher, Mike Mosley, Sarah Paulson, and Sean Hatosy in supporting roles. Financial pressures and strains from Will's drinking issues take the family to the breaking point and everyone is affected by the struggle. Doug Sadler's movie, brilliantly scripted, is a winner on all accounts and holds a mirror to reflect what is common in so many people's lives. Yes, that can be uncomfortable at times, but it is real and jarring in it's truths. Sadler manages to provide just enough levity through the film to keep us hopeful that everyone will pull through somehow. If you are looking for special effects, violence, gratuitous sex and nudity, this is not the film to see, but if you want a good story, well told and beautifully filmed, this is it and worth watching more than once.

Swimmers rocks. It's the sort of movie that stays with you for days. Swimmers is an amazing movie with many layers, some joyful and some profound. The varying themes center around personal strength, love, connections to each other, and transformation as the characters struggle to stay above water, each in an individual way. The point of view stays with a wise and sensitive little girl which creates a innocent delight and a freshness to the total ambiance of the film. The setting could be anywhere in small town America in any working class family, yet this film is about a waterman's family and what they do in a time of crisis. There are funny spots too where the audience feels pulled in again and again to this familiar yet unique world where the Tyler family lives. Gorgeous photography. Super acting too, especially by Robert Knott who plays the father.

Will (Robert Knott) enters a shop and doesn't have enough for his beer, so he takes it out of a jar on the counter that is there to pay for his daughter Emma's (Tara Devon Gallagher) ear operation. This is just after he screamed at his wife Julia (Cherry Jones) for putting the jars out in the first place. Next we see him getting some work, and the first place he goes is to get more beer. This time, he buys one of those plastic roses to give Julia, expecting a sexual payoff.

This is the kind of guy Will is. He is out of work leaving Julia to figure out how to pay the bills and get her daughter an operation while he gets drunk. We all know the type.

This is an interesting picture of working class families trying to make it in the face of adversity. There are and will be many more like this as we get through our current economic crisis. People start coming apart at the seams, while others find solace and strength where they can.

Emma turns to Merrill (Sarah Paulson), who has problems of her own from a childhood incident when she was Emma's age. Paulson is fantastic, and really makes this movie.

Jones is equally brilliant as she tries to hold everything together with the drinking, and philandering, and lack of money.

There isn't a pretty solution, and there is no FX, violence, or a lot of nudity to distract you. You just have to sit back and take in the problems of everyday people and hope for the best.