By George & Josh Bate
There are an estimated 125 million monthly active users of the prominent dating apps Tinder and Bumble. But the vast majority of these 125 million users likely know little of the tumultuous origins of these apps and the integral role played by entrepreneur Whitney Wolfe Herd. In the new Hulu film Swiped, director Rachel Lee Goldenberg does for Tinder and Bumble what David Fincher did for Facebook with The Social Network, chronicling the fascinating and disturbing beginnings of businesses that changed the world while telling a more universally relevant and emotionally powerful story of power and misogyny.
The comparison to The Social Network is apt for a number of reasons. Although lacking the style and polish of Fincher’s acclaimed film, Swiped takes a focused approach to a biographical drama by honing in on the founding of a business (or businesses), rather than detailing the entirety of a person’s life. Goldenberg’s approach entails that little, if anything, is gleaned about Whitney Wolfe Herd’s upbringing, but, through her journey developing two massive businesses, a great deal comes to the surface about her determination and resilience.
This narrative approach sees Swiped unfold formulaically for its first act. Anyone who has seen similar films about growing businesses like The Founder, Joy, and Steve Jobs will immediately recognize the multiple story beats and character moments Goldenberg’s movie hits on. There’s the ambitious, intelligent, and initially underestimated entrepreneur. There’s a gem of an idea that comes to the surface in an epiphany-esque moment. There’s a key moment that sees the entrepreneur brought into the fold of something bigger than she ever expected. And so on, and so on. All of it makes for fast-paced, energetic viewing, although nothing that hasn’t been portrayed countless times before in films and television.
Much like Whitney Wolfe herself, however, Swiped grows into itself as the film progresses beyond its routine first act. Of course, a movie about the creation of Tinder and Bumble wouldn’t exist without some conflict and, moving into its second act, the film certainly has conflict. What begins as subtle belittlement and neglect of credit from her male co-workers/superiors evolves into something far more insidious and, unfortunately, relevant to far too many women. While The Social Network triumphed with its dissection of an embittered, lonely, and insecure man, Swiped captivates with its intricate exploration of the challenges women face in the workplace. Along the way, Wolfe sees men take credit for her success and belittle her. She experiences a toxic breakup followed by harassment and abuse. She faces dissonance in both wanting to champion her own progression and elevate other women’s progression, which can often be at odds with one another. It’s a specific story about a particular woman but also a far more universally relevant story of misogyny.
Many films have explored workplace and societal misogyny, but few provoke palpable frustration and empathy in the manner that Swiped does. In the most complimentary usage of the term, Swiped is a genuinely infuriating movie. An assured, yet vulnerable performance from Lily James and sharp writing from Goldenberg, Bill Parker, and Kim Caramele ensure that, every time Whitney is mistreated, not given credit, pushed back, or discovers that a friend wasn’t really a friend after all, the audience truly feels her pain. The phrase ‘death by a thousand cuts’ comes to mind in watching the film, such is the slow progression of mistreatment that Whitney faces and that, in turn, the audience internalizes. One of the greatest aspects of cinema is the ability to have viewers immerse themselves in the world and perspective of a character, to truly empathize with them and to feel their pain and successes as palpably as they do. A testament to the filmmaking and performances on display here, Swiped makes for immersive and emotional viewing.
Much of this emotion works as well as it does due to the strength of Lily James’ performance. James has impressed with a diverse filmography, from period dramas like Darkest Hour, musicals like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, dramas like The Iron Claw, and, most recently, thrillers like Relay. With Swiped, James takes on another real-life figure (after playing Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy) with grace and confidence to produce a stellar performance. Backed by strong writing, James doesn’t play Wolfe as an infallible protagonist. She admits to climbing the ladder of power and not always looking down to help other women. She admits that she wasn’t always the advocate for women she should have been. In lesser hands, such admissions and vulnerabilities could turn Wolfe into a character more difficult to empathize with, but, thankfully, this is not the case. James constantly transforms her performance, with excitement characterizing her early work before evolving into something more tormented as a result of the mistreatment she faces. While not the kind of role that will deliver awards attention like Pam & Tommy did, Swiped still serves as a vehicle for James to flex her versatiltiy as an actress.
As is the case with many biographical dramas, Swiped is limited by the time constraints and subjectivity of its medium. The movie even admits as such with on-screen text at the beginning and end that qualify the accuracy of events. Admittedly, Swiped seemingly doesn’t come anywhere close to the level of sugarcoating and glossing over that Bohemian Rhapsody did a few years ago, but one can’t help and feel nonetheless that aspects of the story have been altered or omitted for the sake of making a better movie.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Swiped does for Tinder and Bumble what The Social Network did for Facebook. Although lacking the style and polish of David Fincher’s acclaimed biographical drama, director Rachel Lee Goldenberg perseveres through a formualic first act to tell a fascinating, powerful, and disturbingly relevant tale of power and misogyny. Like the best biopics, Swiped manages to portray a specific story about a specific person during a specific time of their life, while intelligently exploring themes and issues that captivate and harbor relevance far beyond the story at hand. A testament to a strong screenplay and an assured, versatile performance from Lily James, Swiped slowly transforms into infuriating viewing (a phrase we use in the most complimentary of ways). One of the greatest aspects of cinema is the ability to have viewers immerse themselves in the world and perspective of a character, to truly empathize with them and to feel their pain and successes as palpably as they do. And Swiped resoundingly achieves this, making for immersive and emotional viewing.