Swoon (intransitive verb, from Middle English) – to feel strong, especially rapturous, emotion. To faint.

I have been swooning lately. A lot. Not the fainting sort of swoon, but the Oh I Can’t Believe You Just Said That And It Made Me Feel Wonderful sort of swoon. I’ve found that swooning is not just limited to the pages of Jane Austen novels (oh, Captain Wentworth!), but in surprising places if one cares to look.
So where am I finding these swoony interludes?

In movies. Of course. And karaoke bars. Actually, just about any bar. And Twitter. Yes, that’s right Twitter. Who knew?

Being made to swoon is one of the loveliest gifts that a man can give to a woman. And it’s hard to pull off, because swoony can border on sleazy and teeter off into porny if the man doesn’t have the tone and the intention correct. To unpack it, a man being swoony is primarily an unselfish act. It is not about throwing a woman a line in an effort to bed her (although if a man can make a woman swoon, that’s a likely outcome!). It’s a statement about male authenticity and generosity. And strength. In other words, a man that can make a woman swoon knows exactly what it is to be a man.

So who are my pin-up boys for swoon? Well, here goes, and this is just the tip of the iceberg:

Tom Hardy – no girl can watch Wuthering Heights, or Inception, or Warrior without going  into raptures.

Daniel Day Lewis & Eric Schweig  in The Last of The Mohicans – the lengths those two go to for their women…

Rex Harrison in the Ghost & Mrs Muir – pure old-fashioned, unadulterated swoonsville.

@Thompson_Film  on Twitter – actually, he inspired this entire swoony post and even the title. So you made it onto my blog, Chip, and look at the fine company you are keeping!