Swingers. The title says a fair amount more than either Jon Favreau
or Doug Liman imagined. Free spirited, free formed, worry free. Those are
what this film encompasses, an impartial impasse. Much like our
characters are drifting through the world, this film simply glides
along, unattached to time or beliefs.
This film is certainly a time capsule, a moment in time, a snapshot of life. Though I have never experienced it myself, I feel it is a safe bet that this is THE Los Angeles film of the 90's. Written by the people, for the people. With this comes some caveats. The film is about men picking up women in the 90's, so there may be some issues to be taken with certain things that happen. Things said, things done, people done. But applying modern sensibilities to a film released even 20 years ago is a fool's errand, so if you can see passed this, the film does have something to offer.
Favreau keeps it as simple as possible, bare bones in plot and characters, instead focusing on what these people are living in. It is the moment that really matters. Trent, Sue, Rob, they aren't concerned with tomorrow. They skirt responsibilities and possibilities to simply exist in the now. That's why Mike stands out, why Mike is unhappy. He's obsessed with the past and praying for the future. One is unchangeable, one is undetermined. It's this uncertainty that Mike lives in that brings about his depression. It's not until he fully embraces the moment, the now, the swing, that he becomes happy again.
Mike's journey is the fundamental experience with the film, which is both a positive and a negative. It's a solid lesson to be learned, a hedonistic reflection of the mid-twenty year old. But it does seem unfulfilling. They characters in the film, one-dimension and one-note, exist in a world all to themselves. They don't see people, see women. No, they just see what they can be using in the situation. Someone to love for a moment. Someone to get to the next gig. Someone to buy them another drink. It is hedonistic, but not in a playful way, not in a productive self-realization, but in a toxic way. It uses the moment for all it's joys, yes, but then throws these joys away.
It's in this easy callousness of the film that I am lost. Though there are times when they show caring and support for one another, these are always stand outs because they go against what the film is saying. Seize the moment, that is a good cause. But I wish the film knew how to savor it too.
This film is certainly a time capsule, a moment in time, a snapshot of life. Though I have never experienced it myself, I feel it is a safe bet that this is THE Los Angeles film of the 90's. Written by the people, for the people. With this comes some caveats. The film is about men picking up women in the 90's, so there may be some issues to be taken with certain things that happen. Things said, things done, people done. But applying modern sensibilities to a film released even 20 years ago is a fool's errand, so if you can see passed this, the film does have something to offer.
Favreau keeps it as simple as possible, bare bones in plot and characters, instead focusing on what these people are living in. It is the moment that really matters. Trent, Sue, Rob, they aren't concerned with tomorrow. They skirt responsibilities and possibilities to simply exist in the now. That's why Mike stands out, why Mike is unhappy. He's obsessed with the past and praying for the future. One is unchangeable, one is undetermined. It's this uncertainty that Mike lives in that brings about his depression. It's not until he fully embraces the moment, the now, the swing, that he becomes happy again.
Mike's journey is the fundamental experience with the film, which is both a positive and a negative. It's a solid lesson to be learned, a hedonistic reflection of the mid-twenty year old. But it does seem unfulfilling. They characters in the film, one-dimension and one-note, exist in a world all to themselves. They don't see people, see women. No, they just see what they can be using in the situation. Someone to love for a moment. Someone to get to the next gig. Someone to buy them another drink. It is hedonistic, but not in a playful way, not in a productive self-realization, but in a toxic way. It uses the moment for all it's joys, yes, but then throws these joys away.
It's in this easy callousness of the film that I am lost. Though there are times when they show caring and support for one another, these are always stand outs because they go against what the film is saying. Seize the moment, that is a good cause. But I wish the film knew how to savor it too.
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