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Swoon (1992)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
25 September 1992 (UK) moreTagline:
Was it a crime of passion? Or a passion for crime?Plot:
The true story of gay lovers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. who kidnapped and murdered a child in the early 1920s for kicks... more | add synopsisAwards:
6 wins & 6 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Exclusive: 3 Q&A Clips for Savage Grace @ Cannes 2007 (From ioncinema. 30 May 2008)
Opening This Week
(From IFC. 26 May 2008, 4:41 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Stylish, Yet Disturbing, Retelling of Leopold and Loeb Case moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Daniel Schlachet | ... | Richard Loeb | |
| Craig Chester | ... | Nathan Leopold Jr. | |
| Ron Vawter | ... | State's Attorney Crowe | |
| Michael Kirby | ... | Detective Savage | |
| Michael Stumm | ... | Doctor Bowman | |
| Valda Z. Drabla | ... | Germaine Reinhardt | |
| Natalie Stanford | ... | Susan Lurie | |
| Isabela Araujo | ... | Venus in Furs Diva | |
| Jill 'Spanky' Buchanan | ... | Venus in Furs Diva | |
| Nashom Benjamin | ... | Venus in Furs Diva / Mona Foot (as Mona Foot) | |
| Trash | ... | Venus in Furs Diva | |
| Trasharama | ... | Venus in Furs Diva | |
| Nashom Wooden | ... | Venus in Furs Diva | |
| Peter Bowen | ... | Factory Workman | |
| Ryan Landry | ... | Ivory |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
82 min | Spain:94 min | Sweden:92 min | UK:80 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Australia:M | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Open (rating surrendered: 1992) | USA:R (original rating: 1992)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In one night scene lit by car headlights, the "headlights" are actually just two halogen work lamps mounted on a C-stand. moreGoofs:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Characters use telephones with Touch Tone dialing-systems and other modern devices, even though the film is set in the early 1920's. The placement of such anachronistic objects was deliberate on the part of the filmmakers. moreFAQ
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Director Tom Kalin took the Leopold and Loeb murder case of the 1920s, which already had been the basis of such films as "Rope" and "Compulsion," and filmed the sordid episode as an exercise in style with flashes of homo-erotic imagery. In his film, "Swoon," Kalin does not flinch from either the murderers' ethnic background or their sexual orientation, although the part that either aspect of their makeup may have played in the crime was not explored. Utilizing haunting black-and-white cinematography by Ellen Kuras, documentary footage from the period, and an often-melancholy score by James Bennett, Kalin fashioned a strangely fascinating look at the aimless lives of two young men with too much money and too much time.
Although the two youths are lovers in the physical sense, their partnership seems to have been born more of boredom than passion. Their lovemaking has eroticism, but it lacks fire. The pair performs more like two bored schoolboys passing a rainy afternoon pleasuring each other than like two men with deep emotional ties. Tragically, this passionless attraction spawns what appears to be an equally passionless crime. The plot to kidnap and murder a young boy seems to have been born of the same boredom that gave rise to Leopold's and Loeb's erotic desires. The two young men have no emotion either before or after the murder, although there is a flash of zeal on the killer's face during and shortly after the murder. The men's demeanor throughout the interrogation and trial suggests a complete lack of, not only remorse, but also comprehension that they have taken a human life. The duo bicker about the details of the crime as though they were trying to recall what they ate for breakfast. The men are distanced not only from the crime, but also from any semblance of humanity.
Appropriately, the sharp light and shade contrasts in the stark photography at times make the film resemble a silent horror film, because "Swoon" is a horror show at its core. These two men are like monsters that were created without souls and that lie in wait until idle thoughts prompt them to fill their empty hours with crime. The languid air that pervades the film underscores the tedium of their existence. Kalin tracks the two men to the ends of their lives and leaves the viewer with an ambivalent feeling about whether or not justice was ever served. Like "In Cold Blood," however, "Swoon" focuses on and almost celebrates the two killers, while the innocent young victim is reduced to a nearly anonymous figure. Thus, "Swoon" is often a difficult film to watch, yet, despite lingering and disturbing thoughts afterward, Kalin has fashioned an intelligent, intriguing work that merits attention.