...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Swimmer

199 statements
38 feature instances
4 referencing feature instances

The Swimmer	type	TVTItem
The Swimmer	label	The Swimmer
The Swimmer	page	TheSwimmer
The Swimmer	comment	A surreal 1968 drama film directed by Frank Perry and an uncredited Sydney Pollack, starring Burt Lancaster, and based on a 1964 short story by John Cheever.One beautiful summer's day in Connecticut, middle-aged Ned Merrill unexpectedly drops by the house of some old friends as they're having a pool party. During their conversation about various mutual friends in their suburban neighborhood, Ned realises that the pools in their various backyards form a "river" leading directly to his own house, and decides on impulse to "swim" his way home by taking a dip in each pool. As he travels from house to house, however, it gradually becomes apparent that not everyone is pleased to see him, and that Ned's charming, enthusiastic outlook might be concealing the fact that things have gone terribly wrong for him...First film score for Marvin Hamlisch. Joan Rivers appears briefly as a party guest who is intrigued by Ned. Diana Muldaur appears as a different party guest who is even more obviously lustful for Ned. Director Frank Perry was fired after a screening of the first cut and replaced by Sydney Pollack, who directed much of the released film, including the entire scene with Ned and Shirley (Janice Rule).
The Swimmer	fetched	2024-04-23T01:16:53Z
The Swimmer	parsed	2024-04-23T01:16:53Z
The Swimmer	processingComment	Dropped link to Fanservice: Not a Feature - IGNORE
The Swimmer	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Swimmer / int_127fc252	type	Creator Cameo
The Swimmer / int_127fc252	comment	Creator Cameo: John Cheever is briefly glimpsed in one of the party scenes along with his wife Mary.
The Swimmer / int_127fc252	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_127fc252	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_127fc252
The Swimmer / int_15184afb	type	This Loser Is You
The Swimmer / int_15184afb	comment	This Loser Is You: Ned and those around him are Cheever's satire on upper middle class materialism and consumerism, particularly how they lead people to live shallow, self-deluded lives.
The Swimmer / int_15184afb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_15184afb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_15184afb
The Swimmer / int_1994ba0b	type	Gone Horribly Right
The Swimmer / int_1994ba0b	comment	Gone Horribly Right: Ned teaches Kevin to swim by going through the movements in an empty pool, telling Kevin not to worry about the lack of water since "if you believe enough that something is true, it's true for you." As Ned leaves, he sees that Kevin has taken the advice literally and is about to take a jump off a diving board into the empty pool.
The Swimmer / int_1994ba0b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_1994ba0b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_1994ba0b
The Swimmer / int_1bbb76bc	type	Abandoned Area
The Swimmer / int_1bbb76bc	comment	Abandoned Area: Not only is Ned's mansion empty and abandoned, it has been in that state for a long time. The gate has rusted, leaves cover the tennis court that he was reminiscing about, weeds and ivy have overgrown everything, and some of the windows are broken open.
The Swimmer / int_1bbb76bc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_1bbb76bc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_1bbb76bc
The Swimmer / int_281de59f	type	Extremely Short Timespan
The Swimmer / int_281de59f	comment	Extremely Short Timespan: A single day from dawn to dusk, as Ned makes a weird trek on foot across his Connecticut neighborhood, diving in every pool along the way. The original short story plays with this in a Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane way; it's still a single day, but there's added hints that Ned is somehow travelling weeks, months and even years further into the future without realising, hence his mystification at how increasingly hostile people get with him, and the seeming change of seasons going on around him.
The Swimmer / int_281de59f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_281de59f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_281de59f
The Swimmer / int_2cf282ea	type	She Is All Grown Up
The Swimmer / int_2cf282ea	comment	She Is All Grown Up: Ned is startled to see Julie Ann Hooper and find that the young girl that used to babysit his daughters has grown into a gorgeous 20-year-old woman. ("You're all grown up!") Of course, as events prove, this is probably because Ned has suffered a psychotic break.
The Swimmer / int_2cf282ea	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_2cf282ea	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_2cf282ea
The Swimmer / int_2d97c18b	type	Pool Scene
The Swimmer / int_2d97c18b	comment	Pool Scene: Pool Scene: The Movie, as the film is nothing but pool scenes of handsome Ned Merrill jumping into various pools, with several attractive women at each pool, even when those scenes are for moments of emotional devastation like when Ned finally makes it to Shirley's pool.
The Swimmer / int_2d97c18b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_2d97c18b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_2d97c18b
The Swimmer / int_3214e476	type	Oblivious to Hatred
The Swimmer / int_3214e476	comment	Oblivious to Hatred: The response of the people Ned meets by the pool sides ranges from bemused toleration or condescending pity to outright contempt and hostility. In each case, Ned is completely oblivious to people's feelings about him unless they just come out and say to his face that he's unwelcome.
The Swimmer / int_3214e476	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_3214e476	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_3214e476
The Swimmer / int_38d12399	type	Teens Are Monsters
The Swimmer / int_38d12399	comment	Teens Are Monsters: Ned's teenage daughters are stated to have become delinquents who have been in trouble with the law.
The Swimmer / int_38d12399	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_38d12399	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_38d12399
The Swimmer / int_3c0a4666	type	Noodle Incident
The Swimmer / int_3c0a4666	comment	Noodle Incident: We don't learn the precise details of what happened to Ned before he showed up at the first house, and he appears to have blocked it out of his own mind, but it's heavily implied that at some point he's lost his job and money, his wife's left him, and his daughters have been getting into trouble with the law. For that matter, where the hell has Ned been? He shows up at a friend's pool in the morning, wearing nothing but his trunks, tanned and cheerful and ready to swim. But his house has obviously been vacant for years, and most of the neighbors know about the disastrous turn his life has taken.
The Swimmer / int_3c0a4666	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_3c0a4666	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_3c0a4666
The Swimmer / int_40b98588	type	Adaptational Location Change
The Swimmer / int_40b98588	comment	Adaptational Location Change: The original short story was set in Westchester County, New York, while the movie instead takes place in a Connecticut suburb.
The Swimmer / int_40b98588	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_40b98588	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_40b98588
The Swimmer / int_4128bc77	type	Broken Tears
The Swimmer / int_4128bc77	comment	Broken Tears: Ned is finally shown sobbing at the front door in the ending.
The Swimmer / int_4128bc77	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_4128bc77	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_4128bc77
The Swimmer / int_42a055ac	type	Happy Place
The Swimmer / int_42a055ac	comment	Happy Place: It becomes clear that Ned mentally inhabits a make-believe world where he's still a successful, affluent man with a loving wife and children and many close friends in his local community. This lets him hide from a reality where the exact opposite of all of these is true.
The Swimmer / int_42a055ac	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_42a055ac	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_42a055ac
The Swimmer / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
The Swimmer / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: The film ends with Ned alone outside of his empty, abandoned house, in the middle of a raging storm, forced to face the awful reality of his situation.
The Swimmer / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_4e3d253b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_4e3d253b
The Swimmer / int_544f446	type	Loser Protagonist
The Swimmer / int_544f446	comment	Loser Protagonist: Ned's life has hit rock bottom, and he remains blissfully unaware of this fact until the final scene at his abandoned house.
The Swimmer / int_544f446	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_544f446	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_544f446
The Swimmer / int_5d5cc3fd	type	Through the Eyes of Madness
The Swimmer / int_5d5cc3fd	comment	Through the Eyes of Madness: We eventually discover that Ned is in denial so deep that he has had a full-on psychotic break. He has retreated into a fantasy world where his family is intact and happy and he still lives in the fancy house on the hill, when he has lost literally everything in Real Life—he appears to own nothing other than those swimming trunks—and his wife and daughters are gone to God only knows where. Ned seems to have forgotten the last several years, down to thinking that his daughters still need a babysitter.
The Swimmer / int_5d5cc3fd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_5d5cc3fd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_5d5cc3fd
The Swimmer / int_70038ab7	type	Seamless Scenery
The Swimmer / int_70038ab7	comment	Seamless Scenery: Ned takes a dive into Betty and Howard's pool—and when he emerges he's getting out of Mrs. Hammar's pool.
The Swimmer / int_70038ab7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_70038ab7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_70038ab7
The Swimmer / int_71152dd	type	One Dialogue, Two Conversations
The Swimmer / int_71152dd	comment	One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Many of Ned's interactions with his neighbors and acquaintances are this because they allude to just how dire his situation is (he's lost his job, his house, and his family has left him) while Ned himself remains blissfully unaware of what is being said and acts that all is well.
The Swimmer / int_71152dd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_71152dd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_71152dd
The Swimmer / int_7a1856ba	type	I Reject Your Reality
The Swimmer / int_7a1856ba	comment	I Reject Your Reality: It's implied throughout the movie that whatever kind of mental instability Ned is suffering involves him firmly rejecting how bad things have become for him. It's basically lampshaded by Ned's own remarks to Kevin, the boy left alone by his parents next to a waterless pool:
The Swimmer / int_7a1856ba	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_7a1856ba	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_7a1856ba
The Swimmer / int_7eebe99c	type	The Alcoholic
The Swimmer / int_7eebe99c	comment	The Alcoholic: Everyone's knocking back the drinks in this movie, but it is implied that Ned's life problems and breakdown may be related to his fondness for drink; notably, when confronting the tradespeople at the end, it is snidely noted that one of the businesses Ned owes money to is the local bar. Also worth noting that John Cheever, the author of the original story, struggled with alcoholism throughout his life.
The Swimmer / int_7eebe99c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_7eebe99c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_7eebe99c
The Swimmer / int_83a903f6	type	Stepford Smiler
The Swimmer / int_83a903f6	comment	Stepford Smiler: It's gradually shown that Ned is this.
The Swimmer / int_83a903f6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_83a903f6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_83a903f6
The Swimmer / int_8591611a	type	Shameful Strip
The Swimmer / int_8591611a	comment	Shameful Strip: It isn't a strip, per se. But Ned, who once was rich and successful and hobnobbed with other rich and successful folks, is forced to take a shower and then show that his feet and toes are clean before jumping into an overcrowded public pool. It plays as a humiliating moment.
The Swimmer / int_8591611a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_8591611a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_8591611a
The Swimmer / int_890d4ef2	type	Humiliation Conga
The Swimmer / int_890d4ef2	comment	Humiliation Conga: For Ned over the course of the movie. Various people that he meets confront him with the fact that he has lost his job, he is broke, all his stuff was sold off, and his wife and daughters are all gone, and by the way they hated him. The hot young lady who recounts her Precocious Crush on Ned recoils and runs off when he tries to make a serious move on her. His former mistress angrily rejects him and claims that she was faking orgasms when they had sex (although the way the rest of that scene plays out hints that she may be lying). And even the pool attendants and common folk at the public pool sneer at Ned for being a deadbeat with juvenile delinquent daughters that can't stand him.
The Swimmer / int_890d4ef2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_890d4ef2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_890d4ef2
The Swimmer / int_9d12bbc1	type	Foreshadowing
The Swimmer / int_9d12bbc1	comment	Foreshadowing: A steady parade of hints that things have gone very badly for Ned and there is something seriously wrong with him. Betty and Howard, owners of the first pool, are visibly startled when Ned says he hopes his daughters will be married at his home. Mrs. Hammar, at the second pool, resents Ned for not coming to the funeral of her son Eddie, but Ned seems unaware that Eddie is dead. Julie, who once was a babysitter for Ned's daughters, is confused when he says that he still needs a babysitter. Later dialogue indicates that Ned's daughters are several years past babysitting age. At the Bunkers' pool, another guest makes remarks indicating that Ned lost his job to a younger man. The sarcastic and contemptuous "CONGRATULATIONS!" that a horny lady at the poolnote played by Diana Muldaur 20 years before ''Star Trek: The Next Generation' spits when Ned says he's meeting his wife Lucinda indicates that his marriage is over. The Hallorans are worried that Ned will hit them up for money again and are surprised when he doesn't—and even more surprised when Ned blithely agrees to buy a $1000 table for Mrs. Halloran's next charity event. Dan, an older gentleman at the Bunkers' pool, tells Ned of a job opportunity, and says "You don't need to keep pretending around me" when Ned tells him that he has a job and isn't interested. Ned tells a young boy whose pool has no water that if you believe in something hard enough, you can make it real for yourself, hinting at his delusional state. Ned is startled to see his hot dog wagon at the Biswanger house: it seems that all his possessions were sold off. And finally, the neighborhood folks he meets at the public pool mock him for leaving unpaid bills at the grocery and the bar. Ned for his part doesn't understand any of the comments that people are making to him and seems unable to process what has happened. Indeed he's barely able to engage with anyone in anything other than his happy talk about swimming from pool to pool.
The Swimmer / int_9d12bbc1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_9d12bbc1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_9d12bbc1
The Swimmer / int_a54534a0	type	Parental Neglect
The Swimmer / int_a54534a0	comment	Parental Neglect: Kevin (the boy selling lemonade who Ned befriends) is left to live alone with a maid in his house while his affluent parents go off galavanting around the world.
The Swimmer / int_a54534a0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_a54534a0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_a54534a0
The Swimmer / int_a58e5ad7	type	Naked People Are Funny
The Swimmer / int_a58e5ad7	comment	Naked People Are Funny: An entirely random gag has the Hallorans, an older married couple, be a pair of nudists. They're sitting on their front lawn porch naked when Ned shows up; ever the gentleman, Ned shucks his swimming trunks. (This is proceeded by a phone call in which the Hallorans' daughter refuses to bring her children to visit if her parents won't put clothes on.)
The Swimmer / int_a58e5ad7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_a58e5ad7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_a58e5ad7
The Swimmer / int_a6a68db3	type	Humble Goal
The Swimmer / int_a6a68db3	comment	Humble Goal: Ned's is to swim through all the pools and go home. However, as time passes, it appears less and less "humble" considering the strange events around him and the reality of his life.
The Swimmer / int_a6a68db3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_a6a68db3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_a6a68db3
The Swimmer / int_b15b6a35	type	Cosmic Plaything
The Swimmer / int_b15b6a35	comment	Cosmic Plaything: Left ambiguous and played with, to the extent that we don't know to what degree Ned is responsible for his situation. It's revealed that Ned has lost everything in his life: his wife and kids have left him, he's lost his job, his house, his possessions, whatever social status he may have had in his community, and ultimately his sanity. How much of this is his own fault is uncertain - one scene hints at his heavy drinking, and another confirms that he cheated on his wife, but the film never resolves whether these were causes or effects of his downfall. Furthermore, many scenes suggest that his neighbors and former friends are more crass, superficial, and drunken than Ned himself, implying that there wasn't anything about Ned that made him particularly deserving of his plight.
The Swimmer / int_b15b6a35	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_b15b6a35	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_b15b6a35
The Swimmer / int_c3c18143	type	Hope Spot
The Swimmer / int_c3c18143	comment	Hope Spot: In retrospect, Dan, the older gentleman at the Bunkers' party who tells Ned about a potential job opportunity (and afterwards says to Ned that "there's no need to pretend around me" as he leaves) was the one person Ned encountered who offered him genuine concern, friendship and an opportunity to put his life back on track. Unfortunately, Ned was too far gone in his delusions to be helped at that point.
The Swimmer / int_c3c18143	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_c3c18143	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_c3c18143
The Swimmer / int_c5249b29	type	Nice Guy
The Swimmer / int_c5249b29	comment	Nice Guy: The owner of the bar who Ned meets at the public pool knows that Ned has hit rock bottom and offers to pay his pool entrance fee, even though Ned owes him a lot of money for unpaid bar tabs. He also tells his wife and another shopkeeper at the pool to stop trying to humiliate Ned, until Ned's delusions prove too much even for the barkeep to tolerate any further.
The Swimmer / int_c5249b29	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_c5249b29	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_c5249b29
The Swimmer / int_c6f45871	type	Fake Orgasm
The Swimmer / int_c6f45871	comment	Fake Orgasm: Ned's former mistress angrily rejects him and claims that she was faking orgasms when they had sex (Although the way the rest of that scene plays out hints that she may be lying).
The Swimmer / int_c6f45871	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_c6f45871	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_c6f45871
The Swimmer / int_cb70651c	type	Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
The Swimmer / int_cb70651c	comment	Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: More in the short story, which plays Ned's journey more as a Twilight Zone-style experience wherein he appears to somehow travel further forward in time with every swim without realising. The movie is still kind of ambiguous, but leans more towards the "mundane" with the heavy implication that Ned's just had some kind of psychotic break after his life completely fell to shit. However, in support of the supernatural or at least surreal interpretation, the background scenery suggests a transition from summer to fall occurred during the course of Ned's journey, which from his POV was a single day.
The Swimmer / int_cb70651c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_cb70651c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_cb70651c
The Swimmer / int_d3beb0de	type	Precocious Crush
The Swimmer / int_d3beb0de	comment	Precocious Crush: In the back story. Lovely young Julie remembers when she was so in love with Ned as a preteen babysitter that she stole one of his shirts so she could take it home and embrace it while thinking about him.
The Swimmer / int_d3beb0de	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_d3beb0de	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_d3beb0de
The Swimmer / int_da12bcfb	type	You Can't Go Home Again
The Swimmer / int_da12bcfb	comment	You Can't Go Home Again: Ned's Tragic Dream is to go home. While he appears to eventually get there, it's long-abandoned and dilapidated, and what's more, Ned can't even get inside.
The Swimmer / int_da12bcfb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_da12bcfb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_da12bcfb
The Swimmer / int_dd1f0863	type	Walking Swimsuit Scene
The Swimmer / int_dd1f0863	comment	Walking Swimsuit Scene: Ned spends the entire movie dressed only in swimming trunks.
The Swimmer / int_dd1f0863	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_dd1f0863	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_dd1f0863
The Swimmer / int_e3cee2e7	type	Empathic Environment
The Swimmer / int_e3cee2e7	comment	Empathic Environment: The further Ned gets into his journey, and the more it becomes clear that his life is falling apart around him, the worse the weather becomes. By the time he reaches his empty, abandoned house, a storm is coming in. His situation is so dire that he can't even hide in his delusions that all is well any longer.
The Swimmer / int_e3cee2e7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_e3cee2e7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_e3cee2e7
The Swimmer / int_fbc54605	type	Riches to Rags
The Swimmer / int_fbc54605	comment	Riches to Rags: Ned was once very wealthy and successful but has since lost everything, including his home. It's implied his swimming trunks are one of the few things he has left.
The Swimmer / int_fbc54605	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_fbc54605	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_fbc54605
The Swimmer / int_name	type	ItemName
The Swimmer / int_name	comment
The Swimmer / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Swimmer / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Swimmer	hasFeature	The Swimmer / int_name
The Swimmer / int_name	itemName	The Swimmer

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Swimmer	hasFeature	Definite Article Title / int_aaec179b
The Swimmer	hasFeature	Fake Orgasm / int_aaec179b
The Swimmer	hasFeature	Seamless Scenery / int_aaec179b
The Swimmer	hasFeature	Walking Swimsuit Scene / int_aaec179b

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.