The Swimmer.
Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) appears out of nowhere at a friends house wearing nothing but his swimming trunks. He seems to be a well liked bloke and his upper middle class friends welcome him. While they sit around the pool moaning about getting old Ned looks out across the valley and decides its possible to cross the county going from garden to garden and stopping off along the way to swim in each pool he comes across. Most of his mates think he's kidding until he ups and leaves. The film follows Ned in his journey as he encounters people along the way and as he does we learn a little more about him. The closer he gets to home the darker things become, leading to a genuinely devastating conclusion.
The Swimmer is a great example of how to deal with exposition in screenwriting. At no point does anyone sit and explain things for the audience. Instead we learn more about Ned as he travels from pool to pool through his encounters with other people. I don't want to get too into the plot however as I'm trying real hard here to give nothing away as the film works most effectively if you go into it blind.
Nonetheless The Swimmer is a clever film that is surprisingly bleak and pessimistic about human nature for a typical studio picture. It still feels like an odd selection for Grindhouse but it's a film that's well worth seeking out.
Needless to say being a grindhouse disc its jam-packed with extras including over 2 hours of documentary detailing the production of the film. As with all previous Grindhouse blu-rays it's also totally region free. The transfer is excellent and once again Grindhouse give the film first class treatment.
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