Swimming Upstream (2004)

"Swimming Upstream", a satisfying Australian movie, was shown on cable recently. Directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a biography by Anthony Fingleton, the film has a lot to admire, in that even if it deals with sports, in this case swimming, but is basically a family drama.Harold Fingleton, the brutish head of the family, is a longshoreman struggling to maintain his wife and five children in Brisbane, in the mid 1950s. Harold has a drinking problem. When he gets drunk, he takes it on his wife, or his children. Dora, the wife, gets her share of the abuse, mainly because she sees in her son Tony a kind soul who she wants to succeed. Dora, who attempted to take her own life, is rescued by the children. That in turn, makes Harold be meaner toward Tony, who in his mind might be showing signs of homosexuality. As it is, Harold was abused by his own mother's clients.When Harold watches the boys at the local pool, he is amazed by the talent he sees in John, and in Tony. He embarks in a quest to make both boys successful champions, but he prefers John to be the one with all the honors; after all, he couldn't care less what happens to Tony. Ironically, Tony is the one that is successful. When having the option to choose between going to the Olympics, or taking a full scholarship at Harvard, Tony chooses the latter.It's sad to see how Harold's own drinking affected the family. In spite of what one would have expected, all the children turned out good, especially Tony. Harold, who eventually sobered up, was never warm toward a son that really loved him and try to win all the contests he entered to gain his father's love.Russell Mulcahy delivered a great film that juxtaposes the successes of the Fingletons with the miserable life at home. Geoffrey Rush got one of the best roles of his career. He does incredible work in portraying the tormented Harold and making the monster that he was, totally dominated by alcohol and hatred. Of course, he had been scarred for life at an early age, and took it on the innocent people that were most vulnerable, his family.Judy Davis is also excellent as Dora. Although she doesn't have as much screen time as Mr. Rush, Ms. Davis is always an interesting actress to watch. Jesse Spencer is fine as Tony as a grown man and Tim Draxl also excels as John. Kain O'Keefe impressed us as the bully Harold Jr. at the beginning of the film.An inspirational film made better by Russell Mulcahy.

In the 1980's there was a long series of Australian films shown on British television - BBC2. After a long diet of Hollywood rubbish it was simply marvellous to see one excellent film after another. The films were mainly funded by public money and i suspect that there are few other countries were the public funding of a film industry has produced such a rich output of world standard. Certainly not in the UK where our native film industry is almost constantly swamped by Hollywood formula movies that dumb down the intelligence of audiences worldwide. in the UK just an occasional Brit's funded classic emerges from the mire. Swimming Upstream is a worthy successor to the Australian films of that early period and i commend it for your viewing without exception.It is the finest performance amongst many for Judy Davis. Geoffrey Rush is utterly convincing as the hard drinking hard thinking Australian father of two sons both with swimming ability. It is an open indictment of the traditional hard edged primeval machismo of Australian male society yet not without understanding and sympathy of that dog breeds dog condition. male brutality breeding male brutality goes hand in hand with indications of the impact of job insecurity and the poverty of families that result from such circumstances. This movie is an inspirational beacon of how sport and in this case swimming in particular can provide a release from such pressures. For some perhaps even a road to freedom and a sense of personal worth thus helping to breech the cycle of brutality associated with traditional male behaviour in Australia. Australia is still a world class producer of thinking mans cinema.

Saw this film at the Denver Film Festival and found it to be intense and moving. Tony Fingleton spoke after the film ended. Making this film was truly a labor of love and he was actually moved to tears as he spoke about his childhood. He said he no longer speaks to his brother-very sad. He said that the film was originally planned as a made for television program but the budget was too great as it is a period piece. Competitive swim buffs, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis fans alike should appreciate it. The actors playing the brothers when they are older are hot too ! I hope this film is able to be distributed widely so it can be seen by lots of people-it is a perfect film for families with older children . Highly recommend this film

Just saw this film on its USA premiere at the Stony Brook Film Festival opening night. A packed house and an excellent Q+A session made this moving film a perfect choice to start the festival.As previously stated, the casting was perfect with the distressed family members being portrayed in believable and engrossing ways. Both Rush and Davis deliver wonderful portrayals. According to the author, who was on hand for the opening, Geoffrey Rush did an eerily accurate job in his role as Tony Fingleton's father. All in all, an excellent film that should be distributed more widely than it currently is.