When Gertrude Ederle, a New Yorker, became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926, British swimmers were determined to make sure a British woman would be next. Vindication Swim tells the story of Mercedes Gleitze, the woman who ultimately claimed that title. But her path to get there was not as straightforward as one might guess.
Mercedes (Kirsten Callaghan) had always loved the sea. In 1927, she had tried seven times to swim the Channel and had failed. As an orphan and a twenty-six-year-old unmarried woman, she was constantly encouraged by the men around her to find a husband and settle down. Her job as a stenographer was unfulfilling, and her attempts to find sponsorship so she could keep swimming came up empty.
On her doctor’s recommendation, she seeks out Harold Best (John Locke), once regarded as the greatest swimmer in the world. He had already conquered the Channel, however Mercedes finds him in a bar, drunk and sad. Eventually agreeing to be her trainer, Best gets her ready for the swim of a lifetime. There is little fanfare, as she is not sponsored by the swimming association.
Once she makes the swim, her fame grows and her situation improves until a rival swimmer, Edith Gade (Victoria Summer), claims she made the swim in a shorter time. When the validity of Gade’s swim was proven to be a scam, Gleitze’s own feat comes under suspicion. Frustrated with the way the male-dominated official inquiry is progressing, Mercedes puts an end to the proceedings but vows to make the swim again to prove her claim to the title.
Vindication Swim, written and directed by Elliott Hasler in his feature debut, was released in the UK last year but comes to US theaters on October 17th. Despite the authenticity of the filmmaking (all the swim footage was shot in the Channel itself without green screens or body doubles), the film falls short of the worthiness of its story.
Kirsten Callaghan, a relative newcomer to the acting business, delivers a flat performance, giving the audience no emotional connection to Mercedes that would cause them to root for her. Instead, the character comes off as whiny and selfishly ambitious. It is only John Locke’s gritty performance as Best that saves the film.
While the locations were beautifully shot, the accompanying music was grating, distracting from the story rather than drawing the viewer into the characters’ inner lives.
Despite the film’s flaws, Mercedes Gleitze’s story affirms that, in the fight for justice, perseverance pays off.