Why Hollywood Loves "The Swimmer"

Why Hollywood Relies On Great Short Story Writers

by Ronald Borst

Written in the late hours of December 4, 2013

American Hollywood, movies around the clock, is the epitome of excess, but the movie business is actually dependent upon somewhat meager avenues.

Short story writers, is what Hollywood really relies on, and John Cheever's “The Swimmer,” an American classic, is one example. The fiction short, and the movie, are easily found in the American pop culture, woven in like the seams on a baseball.

Cheever wrote the story in 1964, and in line with its quality, it is also very literate. It has words I have to look up, and in regard to the class in which the story was assigned, word knowledge is a hobby as well as a commodity.

The story's writing is not what I would consider “highbrow,” no, the language is “educated.” The first looked-up words encountered in the reading, especial and cassock, lend credence to this, as they appear in the first minute of reading. And the story's history speaks for itself. Regarded as a classic piece, and revered.

The movie, on the other hand, did not receive the same sort of acclaim. But it is a worthy effort, considering Hollywood's tendency to rewrite stories for its own glory. Money is the reason for that rewriting fact, of course.

But what is so special about The Swimmer, that warrants a movie?

Well, if we continue examining the text, more than just “educated language” becomes apparent. The opening stanza, with its hangover hanging on everyone, gets the distress going right away. Hangovers are hell, and this point sets the tone. We get more than that from Cheever, however. The scene explodes into vivid imagery once the reader has knowledge of the priest's cassock, his clothing. This simple description, of a drunken and struggling-with-his-oversized-clothes priest, is telling. The point is taken easily by the reader. Good writers do this often. Great writers do it relentlessly.

This point is obviously so beautifully written that Hollywood HAD to come investigate. Meaning, they found a story, written with a palpable heartbeat, that Hollywood considers a “moneymaker.”

But not every great story can be made into a movie, so what, in addition to the initial beauty, makes Cheever's classic short, a classic Hollywood flick?

The plot itself, along with the intense “self-reckoning” the movie presents, is a start to explaining Hollywood's love affair with great short stories. In my own time, another American writer's short story, was made into a movie. That story had self-reckoning too, and coming-of-age, which Hollywood also adores. That story was “The Body” by Stephen King, and the Rob Reiner directed movie was Stand By Me, filmed partially in my home state of Oregon.

That brings us back to The Swimmer, and its anticipated visual beauty. The story also has scenes like “The Body,” with the concept of a constant swim to visit old friends, a seemingly no brainer to adapt to the screen. With its constantly changing, but strangely similar scenes, the story is a perfect set-up for the movie medium.

In regard to the writing, Cheever's extensive use of crisp English, with words such as “especial” and “stertorously,” make the scenes dramatic and ultra-realistic. The writing is so good, that the reader can “see” Ned Merrill, long before any actor ever tried to breathe stertorously.

This quality itself, the way Cheever presents the story, the way the dialogue flows, is attractive to Hollywood, because the material has already proven desirable. And desire gets people spending money.

Money is what Hollywood is about, but fiction writing is not. How does both businesses handle each other? In the case of Cheever's story, there isn't a lot to handle in the way of trueness. Interpreting Cheever means, at the core, just read. Authors, meanwhile, also are sticklers about accurate detail, and as long as Hollywood complies, generally, authors are reasonable, much like a correct adaption.

And money is what the fiction short is. Money in the bank, with scenes like Ned floating graciously down a bannister early on in the story, and self portraits like “a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure,” lend a certain visual quality that just seems to look good on the big screen. Cheever's choice of words, repeatedly shows up in The Swimmer, as larger than life, but oddly, the words are also simply perfect descriptions.

This “perfect description,” is a Hollywood dream, because reproducing stories that are written with such sharp focus and precise exposition, means much work is already done. The reader has been caught, essentially. Keeping that reader on the line, translates into paying attention to Cheever's detail, and reproducing it eloquently and accurately.

Good stories have tension, and The Swimmer has the best, which only translates to another solid reason why the flick folks love this kind of writing. Take the “breach” early on, when the main character, Ned Merrill, is thrown off-course by an empty swimming pool. This tension is dramatically appealing, and visually contrasting, both endearing qualities of an adapted fiction short story.

Stephen King once said, “Description begins in the writer's head, but should finish in the reader's.”

King hits the nail on the head, and in Cheever's story, this if not learned voluntarily, is learned forcibly. What this means is, that any level of reader could see the depth of field in The Swimmer, as a vast panorama. In extraordinary fashion, the description indeed does finish in the reader's head. The people who make movies are not lost on this ease of delivery. And those filmmakers are hungry, chomping at the bit, to relay that vision to you, in an hour and a half big screen movie, their own forte of course.

Even though The Swimmer is SHORT fiction, a feature length movie is well within the implied time expanse, since the many scenes and often encounters, however brief, lead to a movie full of artsy landscapes and complex critical thought.

The roller coaster of emotion, is one of Hollywood top-standard, and how the scene reaches a valley, out there on the Route 424, with Cheever's main character “close to naked and waiting to cross.” If we examine Cheever's passage here, what a scene it is. The drama and tension here, in the words, is as vivid as a dream that one wants to go back to sleep for. And in extraordinary(especial) fashion, Cheever leads the reader deeper down the well, with Ned Merril having “no dignity or humor to bring to the situation.”

It is the stuff literary elite salivate over, and Cheever doesn't disappoint in any fashion, nor at any time whatsoever. Anyone who claims a fiction short is not feature film material, might not have read this story. Anyone who thinks likewise AFTER reading this story, might not have a pulse. The Swimmer brims with luminous scene, elegant grammar, and captivating character study. Publishers, literary agents, and writers themselves, all strive for this kind of status, this kind of credibility. The Swimmer is not only believable, it is beautiful. It is the essence of verisimilitude.

As Hollywood is known for over-the-top productions, it is also known for its creative force. There are simply some in the movie world, who want to turn great stories into great movies.

After reading The Swimmer, can anybody blame them?

Cheever's story, written in 1964, and the accompanying movie from '68, are a positive literary and film experience. I encourage all to take in both.

Attribution:

“The Swimmer” by John Cheever (1964)

“The Body” by Stephen King (1982)

The Swimmer, Columbia Pictures (1968)

Personal reflection about fiction short stories and personal tastes regarding movies

General knowledge of the film industry and American film appetite

Turner Classic Movies, www.tcm.com, used for reference and perspective, unquoted

“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King (2000), used for writing tips and perspective

Linn Benton Community College, ENGLISH 104: Short Fiction, Instructor Jed Wyman, Fall 2013