Swimming

Robert J. Siegel's coming-of-age tale has a simple naturalness, and boasts a lovely, beautifully restrained performance by Lauren Ambrose (daughter Claire from Six Feet Under) as Frankie, a young waitress and half-owner of a struggling diner in a South Carolina beach town whose mundane summer is altered by the arrival of two strangers--a gorgeous girl whom Frankie's brother hires for all the wrong reasons and a scruffy hippie type with whom Frankie strikes up a halting romance. Siegel allows events to unfold at a gentle, unhurried pace, without undue exaggeration or clumsy melodramatics, and the result is quietly convincing and touching. Though it's a small film and technically no more than adequate, Swimming tells its familiar story so unaffectedly that even its clichés seem refreshing; the grace notes are what matter here, and they truly sing. Recommended. [DVD extras include a two-minute “Afterthought” featurette, two-minutes of deleted scenes, and Sundance Film Festival “Snapshot Diaries.” Bottom line: a skimpy extras package for a solid little indie.] (F. Swietek)