Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Oliver Parker, Icon Film Distribution.
Cast: Rob Brydon, Jane Horrocks, Rupert Graves, Charlotte Riley, Jim Carter, Daniel Mays, Nathaniel Parker, Thomas Turgoose, Adel Akhtar.
The need to be needed, a sense of belonging is vital. Eric Scott (Brydon) is not an exception. A man suffering from mid-life crisis finds new meaning in his life after joining an all-male, middle-aged, synchronised swimming team.
A mild, unmuted film inspired by a true life-story from Sweden.
Brydon works as an accountant. His job is numbingly boring. He strolls through life like an automaton. He is estranged from his ambitious wife Heather (Horrocks), who has recently run for local office — and won. She’s busy, so Eric is jealous. He barely deals with his kids. The man is in decline.
That is, until one day, while swimming laps at a local pool, he sees — underwater — a line of men sitting on the bottom. It is a men’s synchronised swimming team, and after giving them suggestions on how to make one of their moves work, he is invited to join the team. Eric says they lack an “apex variable”.
The eight men are not athletic, come from all walks of life and are of varying ages. Luke (Graves) is the silver fox; Tom (Turgoose) is young and tough; there’s gay Kurt (Akhtar); Ted (Carter) is a widower; Colin (Mays) is a construction worker; and two other members who never speak, one of whom is nicknamed ‘Silent Bob’.
Directed by Parker (An Ideal Husband, Dad’s Army, Johnny English Reborn), this low-key comedy teaches us to appreciate what we have in life. Inevitably, comparisons will be made to The Full Monty and Calendar Girls.
To be a winner, tell us the name of the actress who plays Scott’s wife in the film. If your answer is correct, then you could win one of two DVDs of Swimming with Men. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 22 July 2019. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 23 July 2019.
