Luke
stu-kicks
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoSwimming With Sharks
October 20th 2006 05:34
Swimming With Sharks (1994)
Judging from the cover, you'd think this was some sort of comedy. I was warned of this prior-wise, by the same person who recommended it to me (hello Chris), so I was ready for anything. At the very least, I'm always entertained by Kevin Spacey, so I knew it wouldn't be too shit.
'Swimming with Sharks' is a satire of sorts on the cut-throat world of Hollywood producers and their grovelling assistants. The story focuses on one such assistant (Frank Whalley) and his demanding, smirking boss (Spacey). Using a flashback-method to tell the story over several different timeframes, we're shown the evolution of the relationship between the two, which never seems to remotely resemble anything normal. At one point a remark is made to the effect of 'this isn't how you run a business', to which the reply runs, 'this isn't business, this is hollywood', which pretty much sums up the screwed and skewed directions the story takes us.
As I mentioned earlier, this isn't the comedy the video cover seems to suggest it is; in fact, it takes various plot turns that would more easily be deemed dramatic or tragic. That's not to say it's not funny, at times it's very funny, Spacey is fantastic as the over-the-top Hollywood producer, but the film has a lot more to say than a simple comedy would ever try to offer. At the crux of the film is the interplay between the three main characters; the aforementioned two and the woman who sits between them. The film plays with their relationships, building up the audience's sympathy in one character only to deftly switch it around as further 'facts' come to light.
But it's not all plain sailing. Unfortunately, I can't say that it's flawless. The script tries admirably to achieve an ideal perfection in what it's trying to say, and I have to commend it for strictly sticking to the oft-ignored rule 'show, don't tell'. I have to say though, that my main bugbear is the character Dawn Lockard, her motivations are never quite clear in the beginning... it's easy to see why this is as the film progresses but it still seems too obvious a plot hole. Oh well, better luck next time. The acting is generally of a high level though (with the possible exception of Frank Whalley, but to be fair, he is opposite Kevin Spacey), and the direction and script are one of a kind (and in a good way).
This is something worth checking out if you ever see it resting in the weekly comedy section of your video store, it's an interesting film, and it has something pretty cool (and edgy) to say about an industry that stands on it's own.
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