Swimfan

USA, 2002. Directed by John Polson. Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Kate Burton, Clayne Crawford, Jason Ritter, Dan Hedaya.

Ben (Bradford) is a youth with a troubled, drug-influenced past who with the help and support of his long-term girlfriend Amy (Appleby) has cleaned up his act and channelled his energies into becoming the star swimmer of his school team. He comes to the attention of new girl Madison (Christensen) and although he makes it clear he’s in a committed relationship, it’s not long before he succumbs to her charms (in the swimming pool, naturally). Despite initially agreeing that their sexual liaison will be a one-night-stand, it soon becomes clear Madison is not going to leave him alone and appears to be deaf to his ever more desperate pleas for her to do so. At first merely a nuisance, she quickly becomes a real threat to the stable life he has built up for himself and ultimately a physical threat to others in Ben’s life, particularly Amy. Basically this is Fatal Attraction set in high school. Unfortunately it has just as misogynistic a subtext as its more illustrious predecessor – women are a potential threat once they get their hooks into you. And on the strictly entertainment level the movie is also disappointing; there’s no subtlety and the plot is so well-worn you can predict the key events without needing to sit through the film. It might have been more interesting if the film-makers had explored Ben and Madison's contrasting family backgrounds (she's from a much classier family than he is), but this opportunity is missed. Overall it’s a competent piece of work by all concerned but it’s not going to hold anybody on the edge of their seat.