Swimmer main backdrop
Swimmer main poster

6.9/10 • 29

2012-06-240h 17m

Drama

A young man swims across the rivers and lakes of Britain to a soundtrack of assorted nationalistic music. As he passes people on the banksides including children, lovers and a tramp their thoughts and conversations are also heard. Ultimately, after walking through a wood at night, the boy returns to the water and appears to sink below the surface.

Directors
Lynne Ramsay
Editors
Adam Biskupski

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Tom Litten

    Tom Litten

    The Swimmer

  2. Niall Burton

    Niall Burton

    Child Swimmer

  3. Curtis Coker

    Curtis Coker

    Child Swimmer

  4. Tony Heirs

    Tony Heirs

    Child Swimmer

  5. Charlie Likeman

    Charlie Likeman

    Child Swimmer

  6. Joshua Coleman

    Joshua Coleman

    Boy

  7. Samuel Harry Hockday

    Samuel Harry Hockday

    Boy

  8. Kit Johnson

    Kit Johnson

    Boy

  9. Caleb Powel Lindon-Emms

    Caleb Powel Lindon-Emms

    Boy

Reviews1

View Reviews
CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 25, 2025

7/10

Quite near the end, there is a monochrome sequence as Tom Litten swims across a loch, or a lake, with the sun setting behind him whilst Vaughan Williams’s “…Thomas Tallis” is playing that is simply gorgeous to look at. Indeed, much of this is an attractive watch as this young man swims the waterways of the UK observing and being observed by people, their pets, their children and the wildlife. The photography shows us the litheness of the swimmer as he effortlessly glides through the water as well as also displaying the beauty of the scenery. That’s not a sterile sensation; this scenery is alive and buzzing and vibrant and this almost entirely unscripted film just lets us relax and let it wash over us. The final scene is peaceful, but also quite perplexing… Definitely worth ten minutes.

Media

  • Swimmer poster
  • Swimmer poster
  • Swimmer poster
  • Swimmer poster
  • Swimmer poster
  • Swimmer poster
  • Swimmer poster

Recommendations

  • Scenes from the Suburbs main backdrop

    Scenes from the Suburbs

    6.8

  • High Maintenance main backdrop

    High Maintenance

    6.2

  • The Sisters Brothers main backdrop

    The Sisters Brothers

    6.8

  • Die Another Day main backdrop

    Die Another Day

    6.0

  • You Were Never Really Here main backdrop

    You Were Never Really Here

    6.5

  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame main backdrop

    The Hunchback of Notre Dame

    7.1

  • Avengers: Infinity War main backdrop

    Avengers: Infinity War

    8.2

  • Titanic main backdrop

    Titanic

    7.9

  • The Martian main backdrop

    The Martian

    7.7

  • Interstellar main backdrop

    Interstellar

    8.5

  • Back to the Future main backdrop

    Back to the Future

    8.3

  • Aquaman main backdrop

    Aquaman

    6.9

  • Man of Steel main backdrop

    Man of Steel

    6.6

  • Forrest Gump main backdrop

    Forrest Gump

    8.5

  • Olympus Has Fallen main backdrop

    Olympus Has Fallen

    6.4

  • Avatar main backdrop

    Avatar

    7.6

  • Joker main backdrop

    Joker

    8.1

  • Ex Machina main backdrop

    Ex Machina

    7.6

  • Gravity main backdrop

    Gravity

    7.2

  • Arrival main backdrop

    Arrival

    7.6

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
woman directorshort film