Swimmers (2005) User Reviews

Thoughtful, melodic movie

[quillgordon · 7/10 · 6 June 2005]

Swimmers is a lovely, poetic movie about a young girl who needs an operation and the impact of the crisis on her family which does not have health insurance. The script touches on many universal themes: family, friendship, depleted fishing grounds, health care, problem drinking. The performances are wonderful, especially Cherry Jones, Robert Knott, and Tara Devon Gallagher. I saw Swimmers at the Seattle International Film Festival and I strongly recommend it. It just won the Portugese film festival so I am hopeful it will get a distributor as it deserves to be seen by a wide audience. Swimmers is reminiscent of Tender Mercies and Robert Knott's performance reminds me of Robert Duvall's in Tender Mercies--a huge compliment as Tender Mercies is one of my favorite movies. See Swimmers if you get the chance.

Because of my ear, they think I'm invisible.

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 16 January 2009]

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.

Lifetime Movie on Steroids

[proflexxx · 1/10 · 1 July 2007]

This movie plays like a country song from the 70's. They didn't have a dog, but I'm sure it either ran off or died before filming started. Everything bad happens, constantly. This movie feels like it was created at a funeral home. The movie offer no hope. Even the ending feels uncomfortable. This movie is an onslaught of negative emotion. The only good thing that happens in the whole movie is the friendship forged between the little girl and the maniac. Then the maniac decides to dye the little girls hair black without the parents permission. Who does that?

The movie starts at the bottom of a hill and goes down from there. Just when you think things have to get better, they get worse. This movie is a perpetual abuse of drama. This movie is a major downer! If you are feeling sad, please don't rent this movie. If you really enjoy other peoples misery, this is the movie for you! I sat through this movie because I rented it from Netflix. What a waste of a perfect summer afternoon.

Lovely, small film with deeply textured characters

[glmb · 10/10 · 8 June 2005]

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.

Gag me.

[shizz_27 · 1/10 · 5 June 2005]

The kind of well-intentioned, innocuous family film that makes you wanna to tear your friggin' hair out.

Oxford, MD, is a nowhere, nothing seaside town where everybody's bored, getting drunk or fighting, and occasionally all three. Little Emma (cute Tara Devon Gallagher) needs ear surgery, so she can't swim, which is her hope and dream. Her father, who taught her to swim, is an oyster farmer who wrecks his boat, and winds up out of work, leaving the family unable to pay for the medical attention Emma needs. Merrill (Sarah Paulson) is woundup hornball headcase blowing through town, offering solace to almost everyone in town. Gag me. SWIMMERS would be totally agreeable, if completely insipid and boring and a huge waste of time, family entertainment if not for Merrill's following dialogue: "Want a bl*wjob? I won't f*ck, but I can give you a bl*wjob."

(head scratch)… (yawn, stretch).

Flows like water.... Swimmers is a Keeper

[bbunchz · 9/10 · 9 June 2005]

Sadler's "Swimmers" portrays a waterman's family in crisis as a result of his daughter's need for ear surgery. The film provides a glimpse into the Tyler family's upheaval as they search for a financial solution for the necessary surgery. The water scenes were beautifully constructed and gave the viewer a look at the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay area. The sub-plots intricately weave together to bring about the conclusion to this thoroughly enjoyable and brilliant piece of work. I loved the film and found each character well cast. Most importantly, it provides real insight into the plight of the watermen and their diminishing way of life. Highly recommended! "Swimmers" is a keeper!"

the movie and acting is so good that it makes the impact intense

[bgwp · 10/10 · 31 March 2006]

We just saw the movie by accident. We went to the theater to see BI2 and saw that Swimmers was playing. We had the thrill of meeting Doug Sadler (writer & director) and Robert Knott. Since we live across the Chesapeake Bay from the Eastern Shore, where the movie is set, we are familiar with the area, the lifestyles, the economics and such. Swimmers captures the intensity of the Chesapeake Bay watermen in the declining estuary, and the rhythm and flow of the water and the people that make their living on it. I was immediately sucked into the intensity of the movie, and the innerness of the people. The acting is so good and the filming, timing, sights and sounds are so well done, that I forget I was watching a movie and felt that I was sitting next to over looking over the shoulder of the person (actor) in the scene. The subject is intense, and the plot is the personalities of the family members, their thoughts and their interactions. It's a movie that will peel back the onion of your memories and deep personal feelings. It's definitely not a feel good movie. It's much more a feel what is very real about you and people you are closest to movie.

A great, thoughtful film about a family

[kley · 9/10 · 13 June 2005]

We recently saw "Swimmers" at the Waterfront Film Festival. It's a lovely take on the dysfunction that roils beneath the surface of many (if not all) families in one form or another. The story centers on a five-person family as told through the eyes of its youngest member, an 11 year-old girl. The characters and motivations of the mother, father, daughter and one of her brothers are very well-developed, as is that of an unrelated woman that comes to their small Maryland coastal town with some baggage of her own. The story plays beautifully, its underlying tensions coming to a head near the end of the film. Thought-provoking -- my husband and I were talking about it hours after we'd seen it. We hope this film gets picked up and distributed!

Wonderful story, excellent acting.

[sarajones · 8/10 · 9 June 2005]

Swimmers is a wonderful film. The story really pulls you in and is very touching. The audience is able to identify with many of the characters since common human strengths and faults are expressed in this film. The acting is superb; the watermen characters are right on. Emma is an endearing character and made me teary-eyed throughout the movie. The friendship between Emma and Meryl is as believable as it is sweet. Anyone from a small town will be able to identify with the story of Swimmers. Other parts of this film that I really enjoyed were the scenes of the water. The shots of the water and the boats were beautiful.

Great character development

[alishaduckworth · 10/10 · 2 November 2005]

Finally, a movie that has succeeded in properly portraying the small-town working class family. For such a short film, all the major characters are amazingly complex, as they captivate the audience with powerful transitions wrought by financial and social crises. Director Doug Sadler has extracted some of the best acting out of some of Hollywood's most underutilized talent: Cherry Jones playing Julia Tyler, the strong, persevere-at-all-costs mother; Robert Knott playing Will Tyler, the cash-strapped father who loves his family, but who falls apart and seeks escape when his plans for providing for his family fail; Sarah Paulson playing Merrill, a young woman with psychological problems rooted in her childhood; and new-to-Hollywood child actress Tara Devon Gallagher playing 11-year-old Emma Tyler, whose sudden need for a medical procedure becomes the source of the crises and redemption, and through whose both simple and profound perspective the beautiful story is narrated.

We are all just Swimmers

[rqm · 8/10 · 8 June 2005]

"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.

Compelling characters with vivid performances

[ciallc · 8/10 · 8 June 2005]

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.

joyful, profound and painterly

[bastillemqt · 9/10 · 8 June 2005]

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.

Irresistible, authentic portrait of a waterman's family in crisis

[kprice-9 · 9/10 · 9 June 2005]

Wow -- What a gem -- I wonder how Sadler (director) managed to elicit such performances from the entire cast -- I kept waiting for an awkward or flat note from one of the actors, but it never happened. Completely convincing characters, and the accents are right on. Dialect coach and director deserve accolades. I was particularly impressed with how the Merill character turned out-- she could have SO easily been the stereotypical vampy-sexy-screwed-up character, but she was so fragile and so NOT in charge of herself while still remaining appealing-- and with Cherry Jones, of course ("Sit down, Shelly"), and Sean Hatosy is heartbreakingly dear -- could he possibly be anything other than a small-town cop searching for stronger self-esteem?

I also am amazed that a movie with such seemingly humble and unglamorous themes has such a breathless pace -- no one could ever fault this sleeper/swimmer for being "slow."

I am eager to see who is smart enough to pick up this film -- this young writer/director is going places, and some fortunate and talented people are going along for the ride/swim.

Low key, excellent screenplay, casting on point

[daviddomino · 9/10 · 1 April 2006]

This is a wonderful, character driven story of how the often crushing economics of life as a waterman can drive a family apart. There are so many nuances in the performances its hard to know where to start, but let's just say the women drive the action here, with a wonderful debut in Tara Gallagher as Emma, the eleven year old narrator of the tale, and Cherry Jones as her mother Julia, and Sarah Paulson as the emotionally damaged Merrill. These casting choices were excellent, and all bring an understated core to their performances that are perfectly drawn out by Director Doug Sadler working from his own screenplay. Robert Knott as Julia's down and out husband Will Tyler evokes a younger Robert Duvall or Ed Harris, and is pitch perfect in his portrayal of a man trying very hard against odds that are not breaking his way. If you are looking for an antidote to the violence and mayhem that passes for movie-making these days, you can take heart that in this fantastic film solid writing and acting, and the focused emotions of small town life in America, make for a terrific story and one that you should not miss.

Swimmers is swimmingly good!

[hotflash666 · 9/10 · 9 June 2005]

"Swimmers" is an endearing movie. You can sympathize with the characters and understand their pain. I thought that it would be a "regional" movie but it really speaks to people everywhere. The lighting and sound are amazing. I didn't want the movie to end...I wanted to follow the family and their story. Even the dad who definitely had his faults, was a person you could relate to. I hope that this movie goes worldwide as everyone should see it and enjoy it! Doug has written a powerful story about love and anguish in a family and how they deal with their emotions. I'd like to see a sequel involving the "troubled" teen.

Great film

[scottcald · 9/10 · 13 April 2006]

This film tells a compelling story. The writing and the characters are so real and portrayed so well, you can't help but care about them. Emma could be your niece. You could know a Merrill in your life. This was a movie that I was glad to see. I also felt like I really spent time in their lives and didn't just watch a story. Robert Knott, Cherry Jones, Sarah Paulson and Tara Devon Gallagher are all top rate actors. And to have them all in the same film is great. There was not a weak link in the film. The music was complementary and not overpowering. Also, things sounded like they actually do in real life, not the typical big movie sound effects and foley. A lot of care obviously went into this story.