Night Swim
Night Swim is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 14.
STORY: D
Horror story formulas exist for a good reason, but they don’t always work.
So stop me if you’ve heard this before: A family moves into an older house. It’s not in great shape and has a few things wrong with it. Wrong in a creepy-crawly, sinister kind of way, not in a flaking drywall and leaky plumbing kind of way. The family soon finds out something very, very, very, very, very bad happened years ago at the house.
You can fill in the rest, I’m sure.
Night Swim faithfully follows this tried and true formula. But formulas can’t make great stories by themselves. They need something more - some storytelling magic you can’t find in a textbook. While watching, a feeling creepy up inside me that’s very similar to the many times my parents would buy me a remote control car (or boat!) but not buying the batteries it needs to come to life.
And isn’t that the worst feeling? Opening up an awesome birthday present and finding out your parents spaced on buying the batteries? You’re psyched out of your mind to play with it, but you can’t. It just sits there.
It’s shiny and new, but lifeless. Which is also a pretty accurate description of watching Night Swim.
PEOPLE: C
The two leads feel as if they’re in two different movies.
To begin with: both Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon (the parents) are very talented and have entertained me greatly over the years. I actually enjoy both of them in this film. But their performances don't feel like they should be in the same movie. Russell acts as if he's in a campy, B-horror movie, and Condon acts as if she’s in a prestige horror film with awards season buzz.
The film would have worked much better if both leads were on the same page. Sure, Russell’s performance belongs in a campy horror movie (which is what Night Swim is). If Condon had shaken off her Shakespearean roots, perhaps the film would feel more genuine. On the other hand, if they both had decided to go for the acting jugular, if they both had acted with dreams of Oscars glory in their mind, that could make for a pretty fascinating movie.
Perhaps the filmmakers want to create a sense of unease by having Russell and Condon act in such different styles. Unfortunately, they wind up canceling each other out. The choice just makes the film feel uneven and unsure of itself.
FILM NERD STUFF: C-
The cinematography is excellent. The editing isn’t.
You know the feeling when you go to the bathroom during a movie, come back, and a few minutes later find yourself in the middle of a scene that doesn’t make sense? You’re all like, “Dude! Why did I drink that extra diet Pepsi? I should have held it!”
When you get that same feeling without leaving your seat or checking your phone, I call it a “Phantom Limb” scene. This is a scene where you can feel something missing, as if there’s another crucial scene that was either cut from the film or maybe never filmed at all.
Phantom limb scenes can often be a script issue, but the blame often goes to the editor - the person responsible for making sense out of what the director has shot. There are plenty of phantom limb scenes in Night Swim. Whoever’s to blame, it suffers from what feels like random jumps in time.
Alternatively, the filmmakers’ camera style makes the pool feel utterly terrifying. They consistently choose angles that take advantage of water’s ability to hide what lies beneath. They mix water-level shots and below-water shots; one scene artfully uses the diving board and an inflatable flamingo to terrifying effect.
I would also like to commend the makeup person responsible for designing the dangling black snot on Kay’s nose. Truly gross and disturbing work, sir or madam. Well done!
WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE (Elective Class): C
This isn’t a “deep” movie (and yes, that pun is 100% intentional!).
However, if you’d like to really dive in (100%, again), you can unearth some interesting themes.
An intriguing topic to discuss with your friends during your post-movie debrief might be: Water has a great reputation (that whole “I’m responsible for every last bit of life that exists on this planet” thing), but it can also be deadly and destructive. In what ways do we either pay attention to or ignore its dual nature?
People often have dual natures as well. Families, too. In what ways does the dual nature found in people, families, and water affect our lives?
FINAL COMMENTS:
If you were counting on Night Swim capturing the magic of last year’s January grab-bag horror release, M3GAN, you likely will be disappointed. But if all you’re looking for is an unserious horror film with a handful of decently frightening scenes, you won’t go wrong with Night Swim.