History in Open Water

Read Time:5 Minute, 11 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Vindication Swim
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Genre: Historical Drama, Sports, Biography
Year Released: 2024 (UK); 2025
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director(s): Elliott Hasler
Writer(s): Elliott Hasler
Cast: Kirsten Callaghan, John Locke, Victoria Summer, James Wilby, Douglas Hodge
Where to Watch: in select theaters beginning October 17, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: VINDICATION SWIM approaches the biopic like a test of endurance, not just for its protagonist but for its production. The film recreates Mercedes Gleitze’s historic 1927 swim across the English Channel with striking authenticity, capturing both the physical and psychological toll of her journey. What sets this dramatization apart is its commitment to realism—shot in the actual Channel, with lead actress Kirsten Callaghan performing the demanding swims herself. That choice transforms the sea from setting to adversary, grounding the film’s grandeur in sweat, current, and cold.

Callaghan carries the film with restraint. Her portrayal of Mercedes is not a loud symbol of progress but a quiet rebel who refuses to stop moving. You feel the exhaustion in her limbs and the fire beneath her composure. She embodies perseverance without vanity, communicating the will to continue through fatigue, doubt, and barriers that treat her ambition as a curiosity. The film avoids turning her into a saint or martyr; she’s a woman who fights, fails, and tries again until the Channel yields.

Visually, the film alternates between stately period interiors and visceral open-water sequences. The contrast amplifies Mercedes’ isolation—on land, she’s surrounded by decorum and doubt; at sea, she’s alone against something indifferent and immense. Director Elliott Hasler lets the camera linger on the cycle of strokes and waves, trusting texture over dialogue. These long, unbroken shots allow the audience to share Mercedes’ experience: determination transforming into survival instinct. When the vindication portion arrives—her second, grueling swim to silence skeptics—it doesn’t feel like repetition but revelation, the final proof that success means little without belief.

As a young filmmaker, Hasler’s ambition outweighs his resources, but that imbalance gives the movie its charm. There are stretches where dialogue tilts toward stiffness, scenes that exist mainly to move us from one headline to the next, and supporting characters who function more as symbols than people. Yet the film’s sincerity redeems its rough edges. You can sense that every decision—shooting in the real sea, balancing black-and-white with color, allowing the story’s emotion to surface organically—was driven by respect for the material rather than formula.

The film also benefits from its willingness to emphasize process. Instead of romanticizing the swim as pure courage, it shows the discipline behind endurance: training schedules, failed attempts, and the intricate logistics of open-water swimming in an era before modern support crews. Those details make the accomplishment feel tangible. By the time Mercedes wades into the waves again, you understand what it means to test not just body and mind, but reputation itself.

There’s a noticeable restraint in how Hasler handles the feminist undercurrent. The film doesn’t moralize; it simply shows how the world continues to measure Mercedes by the standards of men who’ve never faced her challenges. The moments of condescension she endures—quiet laughter, newspaper doubts in the headlines, patronizing applause—hit harder because the film never overplays them. Vindication becomes less about a record and more about reclaiming agency in a world that treats proof as a form of permission.

Kirsten Callaghan’s performance anchors that shift beautifully. She radiates both exhaustion and resolve, her intensity making each swim feel monumental without showboating. James Wilby, Victoria Summer, and John Locke lend credibility to the surrounding cast, adding depth to a story that could easily have drifted into simple hero worship. Douglas Hodge’s narration ties it together with a sense of historic awe that stops short of reverence.

The first act takes its time establishing texture—tea rooms, press interviews, doubting officials—while the later stretches unfold in long, silent endurance sequences that border on hypnotic. For some, that will feel slow. But the rhythm mirrors the act itself: steady, deliberate, pushing forward stroke by stroke. Hasler resists the easy temptation to inflate triumph; instead, he lets the effort speak for itself. This could have been a very different film if that attention to detail hadn’t been there.

VINDICATION SWIM is not a polished studio biopic, nor does it pretend to be. It’s rough around the edges, earnest, and proudly independent—a small production that manages to capture something enormous. By embracing imperfection and focusing on persistence, the film embodies the same values as its subject. Its heart and its devotion to authenticity keep it afloat. It’s particularly good when it dives into the cold, relentless water that made Mercedes Gleitze’s story immortal. It might not be flawless, but it never lacks sincerity, and that integrity carries it across the finish line.

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[photo courtesy of FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA]

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