The Swimmer

Directed by Frank Perry

United States • 1968 • 95 mins.

Showtimes & Past Screenings

Based on the famous John Cheever story of the same name, The Swimmer interrogates the American Dream, illuminating the ways that an upper-middle-class lifestyle can look wonderful on the surface while existing on a very unstable foundation. Burt Lancaster unforgettably portrays All-American man-child Ned Merrill, a seemingly successful businessman living in suburban Connecticut. Ned appears one day wandering through the woods in a swimsuit and finds himself in the backyard of some friends, where he subsequently traverses the periphery of his neighborhood and his life.