Screenplay: George Huang
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, Michelle Forbes, Benicio Del Toro
Year: 1994
Language: English
UK rental release: Mar 1997 (VHS), April 2002 (DVD)
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I have friends from the United States visiting the UK this week, so it seemed fitting to pay another visit to my cousin's over the water and select this week's pick from digging around their crates. We need something raw...something gripping...something impassioned. All of this and more is available to you in Swimming With Sharks.
Welcome to politics of the movie business. Central to one of Tinseltown's biggest film studios, Keystone Pictures, is Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey, American Beauty, L.A. Confidential), a hard-balling movie mogul who knows what he wants and doesn't like to be messed with. He does like to mess around with the minds of his employees though
Currently taking the strain of Buddy's onslaught is Rex (Benicio Del Toro, The Usual Suspects, Che: Parts One and Two), who has been his assistant for some time now. But he won't be around for long as he's moving into Paramount as a new VP, thanks to the accolades that being Buddy's assistant can bring. He'll be in the office just a little longer though; long enough though to break in the new boy.
Guy is continually put under pressure by his boss at all hours of the day with menial tasks that are demeaning. He is berated for the most minor of errors and always feels like his work is beneath him.
There's a light in his life when he meets Dawn (Michelle Forbes, Admiral Cain of Battlestar Galactica - TV series fame), an up-and-coming producer with a history in Keystone. She's already fallen out with Guy over a parking space yet there is still magnetism between them, ingrained into their tumultuous meeting. 
Pairing this personal life, Buddy's demands grow more intense and more ridiculous. Things start to take a different turn when Guy's position is threatened. Buddy is considering a change in Guy's employment, possible even firing him, but this doesn't go down well. The long term effects of his boss's repression leads Guy to take serious action in ways that Buddy can't comprehend.
He decides to pay Buddy a visit at his home, with harrowing intentions. It's time for some payback!
Swimming With Sharks is all about two key aspects: the acting and the screenplay. The marriage of these two elements generates an identity in this picture somewhat lacking in other dramas of this ilk; ones that usually have larger budgets and behemoth promotion behind them. This film succeeds spiritually, if not financially, on its ability to rely on talent instead of sheen. It believes in integrity instead of buzz. It's light on the pizazz and heavy on the drama.
In fact, this makes it feel like a stage play, so you can see how it found its way to "the boards" in more recent years. Full of sharp dialogue, with delicately placed plot points, the script is sensationally tight, with some unforgettable repartees. It appears to translate so well into the play format in it's form as a movie, a big part of which is thankful to the the kidnap scenes laced amongst the tale.
The picture switches between these kidnap scenes and the moments through the beginning of Guy's career smoothly. The bounce between these two timelines is well balanced, and helps to strike an equilibrium between the comedy and drama within the script. There are brief moments of artistic filming too. Mostly, it's filmed directly, with good standard fare, yet sprinkles of brilliance also seep through, most of which you may spot during the torture scenes.
For example, when Guy shows the state of Buddy's face to him through a mirror, the angle is just so, allowing the performances of both actors to show their talent subtly, only then to accentuate the camerawork further after Guy smashes the mirror: Buddy begins to laugh in profile, while Guy reacts out of focus in the background. And as Guy takes out a nearby lamp, shrouding the room in darkness, the position is held. Silhouetted in darkness, Buddy's cackling continues, with a snap edit straight into his segued laughter back in the office months in the past. These little morsels of filmic delivery add more dramatic flavour to an already thrilling piece.
Tastes of which pepper a main course of the other major factor of this film, of which I am yet to impart on...the acting. The performances from this small cast are deliciously absorbing, drawing you in without you even noticing.
Like last week's selection, The Hunt, this is truly an actor's movie but it is an altogether different beast. On a smaller scale, the intensity from our leads simmers, boils over, returns to the simmer and back again, reverting between these stated fluidly throughout the entire film. Michelle Forbes' polarised portrayal as Dawn is genuine and enthralling, and you're never really clear of her true intention. Frank Whaley is great as Guy also. He plays this dual role, through the two timelines, between weak lackey to twisted, revengeful rebel superbly, delivering the heart to the piece.
Each actor is totally on their game, commanding the lens in equal measure, that is until the powerhouse of Kevin Spacey electrifies the screen. There are numerous reasons why he is one of the finest actors on the planet: his fiery diction, his ability to switch up and down in a nanosecond, his ability to absorb text and enrich it in his own watermark, his unforgettable charismatic presence. All of these factors and many more are all on display in this small picture, elevating its inherent brilliance to astonishing excellence.
His swordplay with Frank Whaley is where the core strength to Swimming With Sharks lies. These two main characters are beautifully drafted out for our actors; a clash between David and Goliath. Buddy is a master of manipulation and deceit; a tyrant in control. And there's more layers to Guy's character too. You root for him at the start, but as you see him unravel it's hard to justify his actions. This is even more prominent when you understand Buddy's drive from his hardships over the years, combined with the naivety of Guy's perspective. These personal landscapes peek further into view through the interlaced scenes at Buddy's house, coming fully into being through the final twenty minutes of the picture.
You'll be gripped even further through these late reveals, captivating you till its bitter end. As Buddy says "Shut Up! Listen! Learn!"...because if you pay attention, you'll be rewarded.
It probably seems unusual for me to pick a film that has such big screen names, especially in Kevin Spacey. Nevertheless, this picture is more suitable than nearly every film I have ever reviewed here; it was filmed on a minute budget of $700,000 and took in, scandalously, an even smaller amount at the box office (at just $382, 928!). This latter fact is not a reflection on the film's quality but just demonstrates how the lack of awareness of a piece can impact a film's initial release. Thankfully, over the years, it has found its way into the hearts of many a film buff, and has led a more successful life in Michael Lesslie's stage adaptation. However, I still think that there's a wave of cinema-goers who have missed this hidden gem, so I'm glad to bring it to your attention...enjoy!
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Alternatively, you could contact me directly about this film or my other reviews on pickoftheweek@filmbore.co.uk
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