The Swimmer came off as an odd story with a middle aged man who was delusional. The audience was left wondering what the point of the story was. Why was a man swimming through different backyard swimming pools? The plot line was confusing and hard to follow but I think the story was written to show Ned Merrill’s transformation from a powerful family man to bankrupt and alone.
The movie is about Ned’s goal to swim the county. This quest is important to Ned and he is determined to finish. As the adventure continues from house to house, the story of Ned Merrill’s life is slowly told. The first few houses welcome Neddy and show excitement to see him because it seems they have not seen him in a while. Ned comes off as a very popular and well-liked man. His friends are very wealthy and Ned acts like he also belongs to the upper class. As the film proceeds the audience starts to notice that Ned is unaware of certain facts about his recent life. The next house shows that Neddy may not have as much money as he used to because the husband at this house wants to give Ned money which shows that he is in fact having money problems. Ned’s stops grow worse. The audience is shown a different side of Ned when we find out he has a mistress which shows family problems. The last stop was the public pool. Ned becomes more delusional and confused at this part of his quest and he runs into two families from the lower class. The audience finds out that Neddy’s two daughters no longer respect him and he owes both of these families money. His life had gone from being filled with love and wealth to anguish and failure.
In conclusion, the movie at first may have seemed weird and not something we were used to seeing. But I think the writer was trying to show how wealth and power can affect a man. The swimming pools were just a way to show the different stages of Ned Merrill’s life. This was an interesting and daring way for a writer to tell a story. Readers may be left confused but I do think the movie helped to explain.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good job describing the unveiling of Ned's true socioeconomic status during the film. For your essay you might want to develop further the specific instances in the film when the audience becomes aware of Ned's facade. Good work!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the swimming pools being significant in showing us more about Ned. Each pool he swam at we got more of his story, it was a clever way to tell about his character and his life.
ReplyDeleteGood Post, I like your take on how each swimming pool represented a different stage of his life. Very confusing story...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hannah, I really liked how you showed that from pool to pool we see more and more of what Ned's life used to be like. I also think the movie was weird and it took a while for me to understand what the purpose of the film was.
ReplyDeleteGood points on how you analyzed the movie.
ReplyDeleteI like the point on the different stages of his life. We got to see the people he lived his rich life with and then he ended up at the community pool with nothing to get in with. I just now realized the significance of the pools and how his life had gone.
ReplyDeleteGood point on the pools being the different stages of his life. Each pool offered another part of his life that wasnt at the others. Each one had its own story and significance.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is look your best Friday!
The movie was definitely odd, but the way each location was used to reveal more to us was a good way to present the story. It kept us guessing most of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope your right, because sadly after reading the story and watching the movie i could still not draw any conclusion as to what was happening, you did a great job explaining the plot line, thank you
ReplyDeleteALbert W