A Man who lost it all

I grew up in Fairfield, an area the resides right next door to Westport where most of The Swimmer was filmed. This movie, like the Ice Storm, is an accurate portrayal of wealthy people from Connecticut. Last night it was on Turner Classic Movies. It was presented as one of comedian Gilbert Godfrey’s favorite films, which I found really interesting. I agree with Godfrey when he said the film is hypnotic. Obviously it has a 1960s feel with the way it was filmed and edited, but so what! That is what makes it so dreamlike. I think with this film you either get it or you don’t. It is that simple. I think it is probably one of the best films about the male ego in a suburbia setting ever made. I also think Burt Lancaster should’ve won a second Academy Award for his bold acting choices.

I have read the great short story a long time ago. The film compliments the short story very accurately. In some ways, it betters it. The scene with the underrated and sexy Janice Rule is so well done, it makes me think that she should've been nominated for a supporting actress that year. If Beatrice Straight can win an award for her short scene in Network, why not Janice Rule for her short and powerful scene in The Swimmer?

If you like this film, I would also recommend F. Scott Fitzgerald's two great short stories Winter Dreams and Babylon Revisited. Robert Olen Butler's story Jealous Husband Returns in the Form of a Parrot is another short story that weirdly reminds of The Swimmer. I would also recommend reading Hemingway's short story, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. These stories are all about broken men past their prime slowly coming to terms with their pasts.