Swiped
Dustin Chase
If you took the origin story of “The Social Network” (2010) and combined it with the empowering “She Said” (2022), you would have something that looks like “Swiped”. Most of us have experimented with dating apps. Whether it was OK Cupid or Match.com in the past, or new ones like Tinder and Bumble. “Swiped” tells the unauthorized story of Whitney Wolfe (Lily James), who helped invent Tinder and later Bumble. It’s a fast-paced, get-you-angry-on-her-behalf type of story that peels back another layer of the male (or in this case, bro) tech world. While it does play a bit like a television film (20th Century Fox, now owned by Disney, is dumping it on Hulu), it’s also anchored and enriched by James’ (“The Iron Claw”) performance.
On a mission to make the world a better place, Whitney Wolfe meets Sean Rad (Ben Schnetzer) at a tech convention. She pitches her idea and gets offered a job to help him get Cardify (originally an app used for restaurant discounts and customer loyalty programs) off the ground. Rad’s team was already working on dating apps in 2012, but Wolfe helped them take it a step further. By 2015, Tinder was the number one dating app, and Rad made Wolfe a co-founder. That was the beginning of the end for Wolfe, romantically involved with another co-founder and expected to be an equal voice at the table. Pushed out, Wolfe retaliated with rival dating app Bumble while under intense litigation over her departure from Tinder.
Wolfe isn’t the most likable character, not that she does anything villainous; it’s her naivety that will get viewers all riled up.
Much like how “The Social Network” utilized fast-paced storytelling to get through a lot of “start-up” material, “Swiped” blasts through a few years in minutes. The editing is snappy, and it understands that much of the early stuff is a bit boring. As the narrative slows down, what “Swiped” is trying to be starts to take shape. Wolfe isn’t the most likable character, not that she does anything villainous; it’s her naivety that will get viewers all riled up. “We need to be practical, not emotional,” Rad mansplans to her at one point. While the Tinder fallout was more of a blip in the news at the time, the film gives a lot more context, making what could be a single-page news article far more compelling.
Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s experience mostly comes from television, and that’s unfortunately how most of the film plays. James, usually the love interest in films, showcases more range with her top-billed status. If “Swiped” were fictitious, it would be incredibly boring. Part of the compelling factor here is that many of the viewers will have one or both apps on their silenced phones as they watch. If you even think about deleting one of them by the time the credits roll, then the screenplay has proved effective. No new cinematic territory is matched here, but it’s another film that highlights the negativity of social media.
Final Thought
Swiping left of right here will likely depend on how interested you are in the dirty details of dating apps.
1 thought on “Swiped”
Haha, yeah, Swiped definitely gets you *angry on her behalf*! Seriously, though, who hasnt felt that rush when their phone buzzes? This story about Whitney Wolfe and Tinder feels like the behind-the-scenes drama of my phones existence. Its wild how quickly things move in the tech world, even the messy, get-you-angry parts. James really *peels back a layer* with her performance. And lets be real, if this were all made up, itd be a snooze fest – thankfully, its not. Just wish Rads advice was good for more than just dating apps!tải đồng hồ đếm ngược