VINDICATION SWIM: the true story of Mercedes Glietze, reviewed

If internet memes had been invented in 1927, #believeher might have taken on a very different meaning. For professional female swimmer, Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to successfully swim the English Channel, the viral phrase would have captured the vindication swim of her life.  

THE ALLURE OF THE CHALLENGE

Several women were competing at that time to swim the channel.  The first one to actually do it on August 6, 1926, was American swimmer Gertrude Ederle.  Ederle also set a new world record at 14 hours and 31 minutes by beating the previous men’s record … by nearly two hours. (“Yass, Queen!”) The second was Danish-American swimmer Amelia “Mille” Gade Corson on August 27, that same year.  Consequently, Britain was hungering for a native female champion to arise.  

Two stepped forward. One of which was Gleitze who’d attempted it seven times before, but failed each time.  The other was Dr. Dorothy Cochrane Logan (Mona MacLellan). Logan, unlike Gleitze, was also funded by the News of the World newspaper, who according to the film, was looking for a more visible and reputable candidate who could also add the “right sort” of (married and respectable) celebrity to the event.  Logan allegedly completed her swim in 1927 just days after Gleitze.  And, astoundingly, by a faster time.  But she was shortly outed for faking the swim.  And, as an unfortunate consequence, it brought Gleitze’s achievement into question, thereby forcing her to prove herself with another attempt just 14 days later.

WOMEN’S WORK IS NEVER DONE

Glietze’s second crossing of the English Channel wasn’t just a cultural phenomenon.  Completing the swim, then having to do it again, just to prove she actually did it before, was, in a word, savage.  As were the conditions in the water the second time around. 

It was now late October.  The channel was fog-bound, extremely cold, and temperatures were as low as 51°F, never rising above 58°F.  Unlike her swim two weeks earlier, when she had had the great fortune of almost placid weather, Gleitze had to now battle a powerful opposing tide, and rough, choppy seas for over ten hours.  It was said even then, that the swim would have been almost impossible for a man to do.  Plus she was already suffering from a chest cold.  In the end, she had to be pulled out of the water. And only a little over five miles away from the Dover Cliffs.

BEAUTIFUL AND TRIUMPHANT

VINDICATION SWIM (exclusively in theaters starting on October 17, 2025), captures Gleitze’s struggle with quiet poise. The timelines jump backwards and forwards, resting mostly on the moments where Gleitze mentally and emotionally struggles. There are so many barriers she must overcome.  Unsurprisingly, most of them in the “court of public opinion.”  And, instead of merely relying on the glamor of Gleitze’s achievement, the film finds its fullest life in this liminal space.   Also, rather than contrasting Gleitze’s complex emotional state, with brighter tones in the triumphant moments, cinematographer Elliott Hasler goes even deeper into the gray. This impregnates each frame with vivid evocativeness.  

KIRSTEN CALLAGHAN IS A SERIOUS LOOK-ALIKE

Kirsten Callaghan, here, is a practically identical physical copy of GIeitze. And she perfectly embodies her surface-reserve. On the flip side, Callaghan also captures the smoldering ferocity of a woman determined to meet her great challenge.  The film portrays Gleize as outwardly modest – publicly required for women of the time period.  But her fire within pipes up aplenty.  Gleitze was a fighter.  And Callaghan does not hold back an ounce of her inner warrior in key moments. She releases her formidable spirit through forceful verbal frankness.  Her words tend to resonate like a weapon.  

Keep in mind that this was the early 20th century.  Women didn’t have anything remotely like equal rights.  Heavy-handed misognyny was the norm.  And for a single woman like Gleitze there was an extra layer of deep-seated prejudice. The attitudes against unmarried women as an existing class were extremely, sometimes detrimentally, negative.  Single women were also open season.  There was no social recourse for a woman to fight back against a determined predator.  We get glimpses of this in Gleitze’s daily life at varying degrees.  

ON HER SIDE

In VINDICATION SWIM, everyone who comes in contact with Gleitze seems to understand that she is bound by none of the things ordinary people hold to.  Whether they like it or not.  Which, of course rankles many a man in the process.  Some women too.  But it doesn’t matter.  She is prepared to follow through at all costs. So, it’s easy to understand how the British public rallied around her.  The press hailed her second crossing as a, “glorious failure.” The achievement, however, was so extraordinary, it really could not be denied.  And withal, the Channel Swimming Association had to concede that she had indeed successfully completed the first swim.

It’s also not surprising that her one time trainer, G.H. Allan, in real life, described Gleitze as the “pluckiest thing he had ever witnessed”.  The film and Callaghan really amplify that singular quality.

And her humble beginnings add to extraordinary story.  Brighton-born, she was also the bilingual daughter of German immigrants.  Essentially, she was a blue collar commoner. She had an ordinary education, no fame, no sponsors, barely any money and worked in the dullest of secretarial jobs.  

POETIC

Gleitze had a genuinely deep longing for the water.  Each frame of this film poetically expresses her internal relationship with the sea itself as well as the father who, alive and dead, draws her to it again and again.  The poetic line in fact is what elevates the character beyond the history.  And Callaghan breathes this onto each frame through the subtle quietude of her character.

VINDICATION SWIM could not have been better named.  It is a straightforward title for a film whose character and history are an exact match for the description.  Even in its most psychologically darkest moments.  VINDICATION SWIM, at long last, also spotlights another collective female point of pride to the mostly silenced, overlooked and heretofore banned chronicles of badass women who have throughout history, bucked all social mores and standards.  

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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SYNOPSIS

VINDICATION SWIM tells the inspiring true story of Mercedes Gleitze, who in 1927 became the first British woman to swim the English Channel. Battling unforgiving seas, societal expectations, and relentless challenges, Mercedes becomes a symbol of resilience. However, her achievement is soon questioned by skeptics, forcing her into a fight for recognition. As Mercedes embarks on a grueling vindication swim, she faces both physical and psychological trials that test her determination. Highlighting the beauty and peril of open water swimming and the obstacles women continue to face in the pursuit of equality, VINDICATION SWIM vividly brings to life the pioneering spirit of Gleitze, who would go on to become a trailblazer for women’s open water swimming around the world.