Saturday, December 06, 2003
Lesson 21: The Swimmer squeezes time
In The Swimmer, the 1968 adaptation of John Cheever's short story, Burt Lancaster plays Ned, a handsome, virile middle-aged charmer who intends to swim home--via the pools in his wealthy suburban neighborhood. It is a lovely, Indian summer day, but there are clouds on the horizon, and the hours seem to speed by.
This is the essence of a ticking clock. Ned must reach home before it gets dark and cold. It's classic Greek theatre, compressing the action into less than a day. When we talk about using time in movies, this is a wonderful example. Ned, who turns out to be something of a time bomb himself, sets himself a quest, and, poof! We are invested in watching himself fulfill it. No bombs under the bed. No atomic material about to melt down. Just a man in swim trunks determined to swim home to his wife.
In The Swimmer, the 1968 adaptation of John Cheever's short story, Burt Lancaster plays Ned, a handsome, virile middle-aged charmer who intends to swim home--via the pools in his wealthy suburban neighborhood. It is a lovely, Indian summer day, but there are clouds on the horizon, and the hours seem to speed by.
This is the essence of a ticking clock. Ned must reach home before it gets dark and cold. It's classic Greek theatre, compressing the action into less than a day. When we talk about using time in movies, this is a wonderful example. Ned, who turns out to be something of a time bomb himself, sets himself a quest, and, poof! We are invested in watching himself fulfill it. No bombs under the bed. No atomic material about to melt down. Just a man in swim trunks determined to swim home to his wife.
