Swimming & The Silver Screen: The Guardian

The Guardian (watch trailer here)

Synopsis: Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) and Ashton Kutcher (Dude, Where's My Car?) star in this drama about the United States Coast Guard's elite rescue swimmers. Costner plays Senior Chief Ben Randall, a highly decorated and seasoned rescue swimmer who, after a tragic mission, is assigned to be lead instructor in the USCG's Aviation Survival Technician Program (A School). It is in A-School where Randall encounters Jake Fischer (Kutcher), a former high school swimming standout who is easily the most promising candidate in the program. Despite Fischer's arrogant bravado, he too is running from a tragic past which, eventually, serves as a common ground between himself and his no non-sense instructor. After a rocky start, the two eventually get along with the mentor finally showing the student what it truly means to be a hero.

Review: Like Pride, swimming takes center stage. Granted, it is not the sport per se but swimming does get exposure in as much as it is a life saving skill. While the body doubles for Costner and Kutcher were easily spotted at times, the masking of such doubles were well done in a sense that you will only notice it if you look very closely or employ the freeze frame technique. However, the movie suffers from what I would like to call "Ambivalent Protagonists". While the story intends that the viewers follow the constant shifting of point-of-views between Randall and Fischer, you can never really tell who exactly to follow. It takes an incredible amount of effort to try to understand what the characters are going through; once the POV shifts, it is almost impossible to pick up the development when it returns. There are no moments wherein one can transition effortlessly from Randall to Fischer and vice versa.

The Verdict: I'll give The Guardian a grade of C. It makes a valiant effort to depict the trials and struggles experienced by USGC Rescue Swimmers as they put their lives on the line "so that others may live". The swimming scenes themselves were nicely done in a sense that the doubles were not mistakenly revealed to the audience (On a side note, US Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Mark Gangloff makes an appearance in the film. However, I cannot seem to find him on-screen). For some reason, perhaps the lead actors or the concept itself, the movie has an unsettling allure about it which is very difficult to resist let alone ignore completely. As alluring as it is, the major fault of the movie is that it tries to tackle too much with very little resulting in the aforementioned "Ambivalent Protagonists". Perhaps it could have found the success it was gunning for if it were a television series akin to Friday Night Lives. This would provide the time needed to fully develop the complexity of Ben Randall and Jake Fischer. Regardless of its flaws, there is still something about The Guardian which entices someone to watch it at least twice. And it would not be surprising at all if the movie actually grows on you, Ambivalent Protagonists and all.

Next review: The Covenant (2005) starring Steven Strait, Laura Ramsey and Sebastian Stan. (Yes, there is a swimming scene here)

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