Swimming with Men is a 2018 British sports comedy-drama film starring Rob Brydon, Jane Horrocks, Rupert Graves, Daniel Mays, Thomas Turgoose, Jim Carter, Adeel Akhtar and Charlotte Riley. It was directed by Oliver Parker.[2][3]
| Swimming with Men | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Oliver Parker |
| Screenplay by | Aschlin Ditta |
| Based on | Allt flyter |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Raedeker |
| Edited by | Liana Del Giudice |
| Music by | Charlie Mole |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Vertigo Releasing[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Screenwriter Aschlin Ditta based the script on the 2010 Swedish documentary Men Who Swim.[4]
Plot
editWhen accountant Eric seeks to win back his wife Heather, he stumbles upon a solution in the form of a male synchronised swimming team: Men Who Swim. Joining his local team, Eric finds brotherhood in this crew as they train for the World Championships in Milan.
Cast
edit- Rob Brydon as Eric Scott
- Jane Horrocks as Heather Scott
- Rupert Graves as Luke
- Daniel Mays as Colin
- Adeel Akhtar as Kurt
- Thomas Turgoose as Tom
- Jim Carter as Ted
- Charlotte Riley as Susan
- Nathaniel Parker as Lewis
Production
editThe scenes from the championship competition were filmed at the 25 x 50 metre pool in Basildon Sporting Village.
Release
editThe film closed the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 1 July 2018. It went on general release in the UK on 4 July.[5]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 54% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Swimming with Men touches on thought-provoking themes surrounding modern masculinity, but ultimately never manages to do much more than tread water."[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[7]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars.[2] Empire gave it two stars and compared it unfavorably to The Full Monty.[8]
See also
edit- Allt flyter, a similar film from 2008
- Sink or Swim, a similar film from 2018
References
edit- ^ "Swimming with Men (UK)". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ a b Bradshaw, Peter (5 July 2018). "Swimming With Men review – Rob Brydon dives in at the deep end". The Guardian.
- ^ "Swimming With Men review: Isn't as funny as we want it to be". The Independent. 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
- ^ Hans, Simran (8 July 2018). "Swimming With Men review – Rob Brydon takes the plunge". The Guardian.
- ^ "News: Release Date Confirmed For Swimming With Men Starring Rob Brydon". Beyond The Joke. 2 May 2018.
- ^ "Swimming With Men". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Swimming with Men". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ Beardsworth, Liz (5 July 2018). "Swimming with Men review". Empire.