Learn to Swim

Directed by Thyrone Tommy, Learn to Swim follows a dour saxophonist (Thomas Antony Olajide’s Dezi) as he embarks upon a tumultuous relationship with a singer named Selma (Emma Ferreira). First-time filmmaker Tommy, working from a script written with Marni Van Dyk, delivers a glacially-paced drama that’s heavy on mood and atmosphere yet almost entirely devoid of context and character development, which ensures that, for the most part, Learn to Swim contains few, if any, elements designed to wholeheartedly capture (and sustain) the viewer’s attention and interest – with the arms-length vibe perpetuated by Olajide’s flat, far-from-sympathetic work as the one-note protagonist and a relentless emphasis on tiresome, excessive jazz performances. And although Tommy has admittedly infused the proceedings with an eye-catching visual sensibility (and does a nice job of stylishly shifting between the past and present), Learn to Swim‘s meandering narrative, which is especially oppressive within the pointedly uneventful first half, paves the way for an underwhelming and uninvolving midsection that’s hardly as impactful (or compelling) as Tommy has obviously intended – with the end result a handsomely-shot misfire that could hardly be less tedious and tiresome.

* out of ****