That brief period between getting your A level results and starting Uni/college is one to be cherished. With no responsibilities there’s a load of fun to be had and its one that Ziba (Deba Hekmat) a really bright Iranian-British student who bests her A-level results, intends to take advantage of to the max. She has planned a day that includes the Last Swim of the title for her and her friends. Those friends are Tara (Lydia Fleming), Shea (Solly McLeod) and Merf (Jay Lycurgo) and are all unaware that there’s more going on with Ziba than they know. It’s alluded to early on when Ziba postpones an urgent Dr’s appointment for her big day out.
It’s a hot summers day and they’re being driven around London in a clapped out A/C free car by Shea who’s penchant for ‘exotic’ cigarettes and downing beers would seem to point to a tragic end to their big day out. They’re joined by Malcolm (Denzel Baidoo) who had been a year above them and has been part of a local football club’s youth training programme and as far as the group are concerned he’s on the verge of Beckham style billions with his career. The reality is to be far different in one of the films best scenes as he discusses the harsh reality of football contracts with his mum who has gone without to fund his football career hopes. It’s all witnessed by Ziba and she and Malcolm develop an increasingly romantic bond as the day plays out.
Last Swim sees the friends leap around London in accordance with Ziba’s list that will culminate in them seeing a once in a lifetime asteroid shower. So their journey sees them take in what Ziba’s regards as London finest falafel shop (a slightly cringe scene as they each taste the street snack and sing its praises) before they make their way to Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill. It’s a trippy blissed out day for all of them set against often hypnotic looping soundtrack which compounds a later truly shocking moment that comes out of nowhere. It’s something of an awful life lesson that the best laid plans for your life often can go catastrophically awry in a way that you have no control over.
From co-writer and director Sasha Mathwani she has recreated and lovingly captured that fleeting few weeks between exam results and University and there’s an underlying melancholy that it’s a time in life that you’ll never have again and in Deba Hekmay she has found a star.
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related feature : Jon Ronson talks about his life, career highs & lows plus his favourite films
Here’s the Last Swim trailer……
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