I liked all three main characters in this simultaneously lightly drawn but very serious and dramatic film... As Paul, Fiennes is, well, fine as the main character (who's determined to swim the Hudson river, for a very special and somewhat scary reason). His two friends, who accompany Paul in a "safety boat" are also very well cast and the three have an instant chemistry, and a finely woven narrative that makes it seem as if they might have known each other for years. Justin Kirk ("weeds") provides the character Jeff, the perfect light touch to our very serious protagonist. Jeff is smart, pragmatic, caring, and sensible and we find him doing many of the things we ourselves would be doing in a similar situation - but ultimately we never find out if any of it works. Elisabeth Reaser (the "Twilight" series) as Liz, also provides the perfect counterpoint to Jeff's light character by seemingly matching Paul's, really very serious dilemma with all the concern any friend would be feeling. Even though Paul's in a self-created situation, neither friend attempts to seriously talk him out of feeling as he does, but they seem to do their best to make life as inviting as possible while they are with him - especially Liz, who goes the extra mile to help Paul and hopefully make him see the light..By the end of the film, the characters are ready to see a conclusion, and so are we - we've toughed it out for over 90 minutes watching the dynamic and we are anxious to see some sort of pay-off with Paul, good or bad. But the failure of this movie is the ambivalent ending. The fundamental question of the story - will Paul really kill himself? Is posed in practically every scene and is an essential, perhaps the ONLY point of the story. Yet, it's never answered. I feel the ending was a mistake and should have been handled differently... we, the viewer, ultimately feel cheated out of our conclusion to the story, and the ending makes us feel baffled, perplexed, confused and even a little duped.

This is one of my favorite films. It asks the question: Is it ever OK to let a young, healthy man commit suicide? It makes one think: If that were my friend, would I let him do it? If I was in that awful dark place, would I secretly wish my friends would stop me? I saw the movie last year & it still comes up in conversations. I love that the story isn't weighed down with religion. It's a true: "What would you do" movie. What is right? The scenery is gorgeous. You can almost feel the rocking of the boat & the blub, blub, blub of our swimmer's breath as he works his way down river.It helps too, that the star looks gorgeous in a wetsuit!

This is a quiet film that grows on you. The three main characters are very real and their interaction grows on you. For me the dialogue was very authentic between the main actors and the subsidiary ones in the film – and at times quite humorous. It's got a sensitive approach to a touchy subject which is suicide, but by no means does this permeate the entire film. The film is slow-paced and the emphasis is on character development and interplay. There are no high-powered revelation scenes but there is a humble intensity through-out.The only one warning I have is that the ending lets you decide for yourself what will happen.

I had the chance to see this at AFI festival in Dallas. The movie is beautifully shot, and some of the scenes along the Hudson are gorgeous. The story line is intriguing, and unfolds as the swimmer makes his way through the challenge of swimming the Hudson. As the first reviewer said, he has a tragic story that compels him to take on this feat. I won't divulge the details, but as his story comes out, it makes you think hard about some of life's issues. Definitely worth seeing.The dialog is also well-written. Although this is not a comedy, the dialog is often quite funny. Fiennes may have gorgeous eyes, but I thought Justin Kirk's character really stood out in the film.