Don’t you just love it when you watch a movie you never even heard of before and find yourself transported? That’s just how I felt about the 2006 Indie film called “The Big Bad Swim” which I rented at the library this afternoon and watched tonight.
Indie Wire says, “Set in scenic South Lyme, Connecticut, 'The Big Bad Swim' follows twelve novice swimmers ranging from ages 17-75 who've taken time out of their complicated lives to take a swim class. The film focuses on three people in the class. Noah (Jeff Branson), the swim class teacher who's battling depression; Jordan (Jess Weixler), an exotic dancer/casino dealer who has little desire to trust men due to her jobs; and Amy (Paget Brewster), a high school teacher who is going through a divorce with another teacher at the school."
The film is the debut feature of Ishai Setton, who co-wrote the script with friend Daniel Schechter, and admits one of the biggest challenges the two had with the story was its size. Indies usually don't have the funds to have complicated, multiple characters, but somehow they pulled it off.
It won several film festival awards and all I can say is that I planned to use the movie as background while I was addressing Christmas cards. But, I was instantly engaged--and I didn't get very many done. I can’t remember the last time I have seen such good and thoroughly natural actors and I thought the plot and script were excellent.
Have any of you seen it? If not, I sure recommend it—and I’ll watch for Ishai Setton and his Settonsun Productions in the future. I am so partial to the Indie films.
