Swiped is a new film that premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and is set to release on Hulu on September 19th. Written by Bill Parker & Rachel Lee Goldenberg and Kim Caramele, and directed by Goldenberg, the film stars Lily James, Jackson White, Myha’la, Ben Schnetzer, and Dan Stevens. Whitney Wolfe uses extraordinary grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry, launch an innovative, globally lauded dating app two, actually, and pave the way to becoming the youngest female self-made billionaire.  

I’ve been a fan of Lily James since Baby Driver. I have been a fan of Dan Stevens since The Guest. When I heard they were in a film together, I was sold. When I got early access to the new film, I was sold. You could have put these two in just about anything and I’m there. While this new film isn’t anything groundbreaking compared to anything else you may have seen, it’s sort of a love letter to its time and delivers an important message by the end of it.

It’s clear the film takes a lot of creative liberties as the real Whitney Wolfe couldn’t be a consultant due to her NDA agreement with Tinder. That doesn’t stop the film from delivering a hard hitting message. The filmmakers were inspired by Wolfe’s story to produce something profound, and give something to viewers to think of years after the Me Too movement started. The film leans into a bygone era with its tone. Between the inconsistencies in tone and in pacing, I could see viewers have tonal whiplash, but I also think the film’s overall message, and the performances that accompany the film will leave viewers satisfied.

Like I said, I am a big fan of Lily James. Her work on Pam & Tommy showed just how far she could go with transforming herself into someone else, and you could say the same thing here. From certain angles, I could tell it was James. Close up, I couldn’t tell at all. For a while, I honestly thought it was Annie Murphy in the opening minutes. I was completely blown away with the make up department and how they made her look like someone else. James’ performance is extraordinary, showcasing just how talented of an actress she is.

Dan Stevens isn’t in the film as much as I thought he would, and I’m okay with that. His accent completely caught me off guard. It took a little while to get used to it, but I eventually got into it. Even with his minimal screentime, Stevens still makes a big impact through his performance and what his character represents. I just wish the writing had developed him a little better. To be fair, I did feel that way with several of the key characters, along with the story.

There is a natural, progressive story arc for our main character. If this played in theaters, I could see this being a real crowd pleaser due to what James does for the main character. However, the film needed a lot more development. James sells her performance, making her character feel as real as possible; however, we don’t quite fully understand who she was before all of this. While the first half really leans into the story, the second half quickly glosses over time to get to the finish line. Montages are used, but quickly goes through character development that doesn’t feel quite earned. With a runtime at almost 2 hours, I think the film could have captured this needed development through better pacing and more of a thought out structure.

One of the film’s strongest components is how the camera moves around from scene to scene. It’s very interactive and helps keep the film engaging, even in the slower scenes. The soundtrack even embraces its time. As someone who grew up during this time, it easily transported me back better than most films that I have seen that try to capture this era, even though it was only a decade ago.

Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg manages to capture this tone by leaning into the music and what was popular at that given time. While it did transport me back to the time, I also felt like the campiness leaned a little too much into the early -to-mid 2000’s. The performances still sell the right kind of tone that Goldenberg is going for. When the film leans into the powerful message is when the film is at its best. When it tries to mix the seriousness with the fun, it can become tonally confusing.

Overall, Swiped works best between the performances and overall message. The positives outweigh the clunky structure & rushed pacing. It’s a real crowd pleaser, and I can see it becoming a big hit.

VERDICT: 3/5 (Good)