A mesmerizing odyssey through the mind of a uniquely talented performer, as well as through one of the gorier chapters of modern history.
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Gray's haunted, obsessional riffs are absorbing theater. Because Demme had the good sense to lay back and not beat them over the head with his cameras, they're equally compelling on film. [27 Mar 1987]
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Mr. Gray's feature-length monologue brings people, places and things so vibrantly to life that they're very nearly visible on the screen.
80
Washington PostRita Kempley
Washington PostRita Kempley
It's not the monotonous, neurotic's ego trip you'd imagine, but a karate-chop crawl against a rising tide of complacency.
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This curious idea for a movie actually works.
70
Variety
Variety
Spalding Gray's free-associating recollection of his experiences in Thailand during the making of The Killing Fields had an exhilarating immediacy which is mostly absent in this compressed filmed performance of Swimming to Cambodia.
Very much a matter of shared taste and attitude, but cultural outsiders had best beware.
30
TimeRichard Schickel
TimeRichard Schickel
His is a dispassionate sensibility, and he is not a strong enough actor - nor has he a strong enough intelligence - to fight his way out of the false analogy he has drawn between moviemaking and tragic history in the making.