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Swimfan is a thriller that basically takes the Fatal Attraction formula—married man stalked by obsessed woman—and places it in a high school. When a swim star lapses in faithfulness to his girlfriend, his dalliance with an obsessed fan costs him his peace of mind … and much more. The seductress (Traffic's Erika Christensen) is not about to let her target get away, and when he tries to hide his foolish error from his girlfriend, the stalker becomes dangerous and aggressive.

Certainly this is a basic morality play. Religious media critics are displeased by the film, not for its message that "infidelity is bad," but because the "good" relationship is actually far from healthy.

Bob Smithouser (Focus on the Family) says, "The message: Cheating, bad; sex between committed high schoolers, good. Sometimes what lurks beneath the surface poses the greatest threat."

Douglas Downs (Christian Spotlight) writes, "Most Christians and morally conscious people would blush at the innuendo-laden dialogue present in Swimfan. You begin to get the very distinct impression that all teens think about is sex and 'getting laid'. Why does Hollywood persist in old stereotypes? Please heed these warnings and skip out on this corporate attempt to further corrupt the innocence of America."

Looking at other aspects, Phil Boatwright (Movie Reporter) says there's not much to admire: "Putting aside the objectionable content for a moment, the script, the direction and most of the acting are—now let's be generous—disappointing."

Meanwhile, mainstream critics are hoping the movie quickly drowns in bad reviews.

Stephen Holden (New York Times) claims that the film "goes overboard with a loony melodramatic denouement." David Hunter (Hollywood Reporter) says, "The project's filmmakers forgot to include anything even halfway scary. Swimfan has bad-movie cult potential, if it even gets that much attention. [The film] dog-paddles to the finish … but the movie by then has become far funnier than any thriller can afford to be."

In City by the Sea, a dramatic thriller based (very loosely) on true events, Robert De Niro takes on one of the more understated roles of his career. He plays Vincent LaMarca, a well-respected investigator trying to redeem his family's reputation. Vincent's father was executed for a murder conviction, and while Vincent questions the truth of this verdict, he is haunted by the scandal. Even as he dedicates his life to justice in his community, his neglect of his own son, Joey (James Franco), brings the old ghost back. Joey, separated from his father after his parents' painful divorce, plunges into drug-addiction and despair, and soon he finds himself accused of killing a policeman. As the cops close in, Vincent finds his loyalties divided, and he tries to make amends with his son before it is too late.

Director Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy) is not new to father-son dramas. In fact, he got excellent work out of De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in This Boy's Life. Here, he avoids over-stylizing the tense proceedings and lets the actors develop believable, memorable characters. De Niro is especially good, making Vincent a man burdened by regret, slow to share his secrets, and afraid of the commitment required to make a family work. His bitter ex-wife (Patty Lupone) makes matters worse, but the care and sympathy he finds in the heart of a new flame (Frances McDormand) just might motivate him to do the right thing. Franco is impressive as the frightened, nervous, drug-addicted Joey, playing him with convincing weariness and desperation. Nevertheless, McDormand almost steals the movie out from under both lead actors, taking another small, forgettable part and transforming it, as she did in Almost Famous, into a vital character.

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September (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46