Reception
Swimmers was an official selection of the The Sundance Film Festival's American Spectrum showcase and finalist for the Humanitas Prize. The festival called the movie "a uniquely American story that combines an Arthur Miller sense of drama with emotive Edward Hopperesque photography. Swimmers draws us in as naturally as the tide with the sharp reflections of its truth and humanity."
Daniel Wible of Film Threat described the film as "idyllically filmed" and having "a wonderfully evocative sense of place." Commenting on the film's water motif, Wible said, "Sadler and cinematographer Rodney Taylor draw exquisite visual parallels between the gentle rise and fall of the tide and the banal rhythms of daily seaside life. Their use of water as a timeless surrogate for life, hope, and even death, is particularly interesting, if not entirely original." About the performances, Wible said, "the film's cast is uniformly authentic and mesmerizing" but that, "Swimmers is ultimately young Tara Devon Gallagher's film. The rookie actress improbably delivers a profoundly mature performance that belies her experience."
Desson Thomson of Washingtonpost.com said overall, "Swimmers is an unhurried delight with persuasive performances, particularly from the beguiling Gallagher. And it evokes a memorable world -- dark mornings on the Chesapeake as watermen take out their chugging boats; silhouettes on piers; and the glistening of wriggling crabs in the sun."
The film currently has an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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