Swimming With Men - Review

****

Screenplayby Aschlin Ditta

Directed by Oliver Parker

97 minutes

In what must surely be the feel-good movie of the summer, Swimming With Men mixes up a quirky storywith a sprinkling of fairy-tale fantasy, but bases its charm on a rock solid core of friendship and camaraderie.

Rob Brydon is Eric is a disillusioned 40-something accountant, convinced that his newly elected Councillor wife Heather (great supporting work from Jane Horrocks) is cheating on him, and struggling to communicate with his teenage son. Eric’s escape is to the local swimming pool where quite by chance he stumbles across a suburban, aquatic and quintessentially British take on Fight Club (to use a cinematic analogy). Half a dozen men from a range of ages and backgrounds meet once a week as an amateur synchronised swimming group - and it all goes swimmingly from there

The storyline may be delightfully improbable - but what slices through this movie’s choppy waves of incredulity are the back-stories that the six pals bring to the pool. There’s Tom played by the young Thomas Turgoose, a chancer who’s forever dodging the local cops, Rupert Graves is is the once-suave Luke, now divorced and missing his daughters, while the venerable and always excellent Jim Carter is Ted, the elder statesman of the group and perhaps the wisest too. Each man has his own personal tragedy that for one blissful hour each week, is left in the changing room with their clothes.

When Susan (Charlotte Riley), a swimming instructor at the pool engineers an encounter with a member of the Swedish Men’s Synchronised Swimming team, the plucky Brits are spurred on, trained by Susan, to enter the international amateur synchro-swimming finals in Milan. The story’s ability to upend common sense is matched only by its all consuming charm, sensational acting, and ingenious photography. And in a world thats increasingly dominated by CGI and special effects, see this movie if only to marvel at Jim Carter, aged nigh on 70, performing real underwater loops in the synchro-swimming routines!

With a gorgeous score from Charlie Mole that occasionally doffs its (swimming) cap at Ennio Morricone and David Raedeker’s stunning underwater photography, Swimming With Men is British film-making at its eccentrically beautiful best.

At cinemas across the country

National Histories - Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter

As a part of the NT50 celebrations, The Shed at the National Theatre was nicely filled to warmly welcome Imelda Staunton and husband Jim Carter to a platform performance Q&A as part of the "National Histories" series. No audience participation, rather the discussion was their responses to10 questions that the NT are posing to all participants / performers in this season.

Cranford, Carson and Vera Drake were off-limits for this chat, it was strictly the actors' reminiscences of time spent working in, or simply watching, NT productions. Not surprisingly Richard Eyre's1982 production of Guys & Dolls featured heavily in the discussion. The couple first met at the show's first read-through and were married two years later. Staunton who had previously played lead roles in provincial reps. spoke of the humbling awe she experienced, joining a company led by Bob Hoskins, Ian Charleston, Julie Covington and above all, Julia McKenzie. Staunton has gone on to achieve greatness on stage and screen, yet her and her husband look back on that show with particular fondness. As an actress not usually cast for a glamorous look, Staunton took delight in the fur stole, sequinned bodice and lacy gloves that she then had to strip out of in Take Back Your Mink, describing it as her favourite costume ever, with Carter concurring that his favourite dressing-up role was the glamorous transvestite outfit from the show's Cuba routine. (Who knew that all through Act One, menacing mobster Big Julie was sporting fishnets underneath his double-breasted suit?)

Imelda Staunton gives back her mink

Both spoke warmly too of the people values that the National inculcates amongst its staff, describing the backstage, technical and stage management crews as the finest in the world. They spoke of the longevity of employment that exists amongst the National's team that has fostered a culture of care and concern in looking after it's performers, whilst at all times striving towards excellence. (That culture has evidently been maintained, with 2013's newcomers to the National’s Light Princess company privately expressing astonishment to me at quite how well they are cared for.)

Staunton and Carter both expressed their admiration for the quality of acting that permeates a typical National company and not just amongst the star names. Whilst Anthony Hopkins' Lambert Le Roux in Howard Brenton's Pravda earned their plaudits, they were both spoke of their admiration and respect for NT stalwarts that included the likes of the late Michael Bryant and who consistently delivered excellence in supporting roles.

Jim Carter threatens Bob Hoskins in rehearsal for Guys and Dolls

The 45 minute chat was but a tiny peek into the recollections of a talented couple whose personal lives owe so much to the NT and who have also given so much to the NT canon of work. The National Histories series continues through October. The guest list is mouthwatering. Not to be missed!