The Swimmer

A swimming trip as a quest for the past

On a sunny summer day, Ned (Burt Lancaster) is at a garden party in a wealthy suburb of Connecticut. He looks around and sees a swimming pool in every garden. Spontaneously, he decides to 'swim home' through all those pools. What begins as a reckless adventure soon turns into a confrontation with his own life.

Every swimming pool tells a story

At every swimming pool, Ned encounters people from his past: friends, acquaintances, an old flame. The conversations are friendly, but also awkward. Slowly, a different image of Ned unfolds than the one he has in mind. The film plays with time and memory in a way that makes you, as a viewer, think.

Burt Lancaster at his best

The Swimmer from 1968 is based on a short story by American writer John Cheever. Director Frank Perry translates Cheever's literary style to the screen. Lancaster plays a man who keeps up appearances but loses ground increasingly. It is one of his most layered roles.