January 13, 2010 - Swimmers

Opted for an indie drama shortly after finishing my writing tonight. Wasn't bad, but a payoff at the end would've made it a whole lot better.

(17) Swimmers (2005): Emma, 11, an aspiring swimmer, suffers a ruptured eardrum in the middle of a swim meet, nearly drowns before her father pulls her from the pool, and ultimately needs a surgery her parents can't afford. A decent enough premise, and the young actress who played Emma (Tara Devon Gallagher) does a commendable job for her first real acting gig, but she was much better when she wasn't acting in the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom (2005). Still, she was the only character I even cared about.

This film is the kinds that filled with a lot of familiar faces you can't name, who've been in a lot of movies you've seen but also can't name. One of those actors, Sarah Paulson, does a remarkable job of being believably disturbed. It all pretty much plays out as one would expect, but there are some good bits of dialogue along the way. It falls flat in the final 15 minutes, and for that reason I can't really recommend this film.

2 Stars