Because of an unnecessary and clumsy last scene, Swimfan left me with a very bad feeling. I hate it when that happens, especially if the movie has succeeded in capturing my interest and involvement up to that point. This Fatal Attraction-like teen thriller features moments of spine-tingling suspense, a couple of nice surprises, and solid performances by Erika Christensen, Jesse Bradford, and Shiri Appleby. Why spoil it all?

Australian director John Polson (Siam Sunset) seemed to be on the right track. "The idea of making a film that had audiences at the edge of their seats really appealed to me," he says. "Swimfan is a morality tale about a guy who’s got everything going for him and the world at his feet, including a girl he’s completely in love with and a career ahead of him that’s going to be magic. Then one day he makes one mistake – but it’s a big one."

Our hero, Ben Cronin (Bradford), can’t resist the seductive charms of Madison Bell (Christensen), a new girl in school, during a wanton moment in their high school pool. Ben thinks it’s just a one-time thing, but Madison has other ideas. After realizing Ben won’t leave his steady girlfriend (Appleby) for her, Madison tries to sabotage his plans for a swimming scholarship as well as his relationship with his true love.

Polson claims he wanted to make a different kind of teen thriller, one that’s intelligent and pushes all the right buttons with audiences. And the emotional gauntlet Ben goes through certainly emerges as more exciting and mature than problems of movie teens depicted in films like Orange County. "The character of Ben Cronin really impressed me," says Bradford (Clockstoppers), who, with his projection of such intense misery, reminded me of a young Montgomery Clift here. "In the course of this story he sees his entire life stripped away from him."

I’m also impressed by the way Christensen (Traffic) endowed her obsessed character with layers of darkness beyond what I expected from an actress her age. Although no match for Glenn Close’s classic evil seductress in Fatal Attraction, she shows considerable potential. "I like that Madison is in essence the villain of the piece," admits Christensen. "But at the same time she has some interesting vulnerabilities. She’s misunderstood."

Appleby (Roswell) is another young performer who seems wise beyond her years in Swimfan. Playing Ben’s soul mate, she comes across as everything Christensen’s character is not – sweet, wholesome, nurturing. "Amy is an open person, incredibly honest about how she feels about Ben, creative and a lot of fun," Appleby reports. Because Appleby is so convincing, I experienced a great deal of anxiety whenever Amy was in jeopardy as a result of Madison’s jealousy.

So far, so good. And then, just when this satisfying teen thriller reaches a PERFECT place to end (you’ll know it when you see it), another scene follows that makes no sense at all. Bummer.

(Released by 20^th Century Fox and rated "PG-13" for mature thematic elements, sexual content, disturbing images and language.)