'Swimming with Sharks' may be the best example of a neglected and forgotten film ever. I mean, Trimark didn't even bother transferring the movie onto tape in it's entirety, the tape runs out half way through the end credits. I first caught this film on late night TV up here in Canada, and I was amazed at how good it was, and how I could've missed it earlier. After that I spent the next four months searching every video store in Calgary for a copy to rent, eventually finding one in a small store on the other end of town. Once I took it home, I was ecstatic, popping it into the VCR immediately. It was as good... no, better than I remembered. I saw it five times that weekend.
Spacey's portrayal of Buddy Ackerman, the boss from hell, is right on target, and will go down as his best performance up until 1999's 'American Beauty' (in my opinion it was better than Beauty, but the critics apparently didn't think so). Frank Whaley, as Guy, the films protagonist, is Spacey's equal, or pretty close, he gives a great, underrated performance here. Michelle Forbes and Benicio Del Toro also provide great support in two pivotal roles.
The script couldn't have been better. The one liners fly in fast and furious, mixed in with some drama and a great ending, all wrapped up in an unconventional format, moving between the present and past effortlessly. George Huang's direction is also superb, he creates a great atmosphere and it lasts throughout the entire film, no small feat. It's too bad he hasn't gone on to bigger and better thinks yet, as he has a wealth of untapped talent.
Still, despite the great acting, writing and direction, the best part may be the haunting piano music, which stays with you long as the film has ended. The most incredible part of it all is that the soundtrack only contains a single short track from the movie's score, with the rest coming from a random assortment of songs by famous artists that don't even appear in the movie.
A brilliant, twisted character study, with an ending coming right out of the blue. I don't understand why people disliked the ending so much, to me it was one of the best parts of the film. See it if you haven't already, you surely won't be disappointed
10/10
Spacey's portrayal of Buddy Ackerman, the boss from hell, is right on target, and will go down as his best performance up until 1999's 'American Beauty' (in my opinion it was better than Beauty, but the critics apparently didn't think so). Frank Whaley, as Guy, the films protagonist, is Spacey's equal, or pretty close, he gives a great, underrated performance here. Michelle Forbes and Benicio Del Toro also provide great support in two pivotal roles.
The script couldn't have been better. The one liners fly in fast and furious, mixed in with some drama and a great ending, all wrapped up in an unconventional format, moving between the present and past effortlessly. George Huang's direction is also superb, he creates a great atmosphere and it lasts throughout the entire film, no small feat. It's too bad he hasn't gone on to bigger and better thinks yet, as he has a wealth of untapped talent.
Still, despite the great acting, writing and direction, the best part may be the haunting piano music, which stays with you long as the film has ended. The most incredible part of it all is that the soundtrack only contains a single short track from the movie's score, with the rest coming from a random assortment of songs by famous artists that don't even appear in the movie.
A brilliant, twisted character study, with an ending coming right out of the blue. I don't understand why people disliked the ending so much, to me it was one of the best parts of the film. See it if you haven't already, you surely won't be disappointed
10/10