Excellent, a Must See

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

A lot of fun.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This writer tries to avoid comparing the film with the book, They are totally different media. I've never before referred to other posts on this site. This time I have to break both rules.This film is effectively a sequel to the memoir 'Surviving Maggie', John Fingleton's tale of his dysfunctional family, and their violent, alcoholic mother. Yes, John's grandmother. The slant here is that of 'Once were Warriors', the great little movie from New Zealand, which was based on the experiences of a violent mother. In 'Warriors' the violent one becomes the father. The victim in John's memoir is Harold, played here by Geoffrey Rush, who has been turned into a violent alcoholic. Why authors do this, I do not know. What I do have to ask is: Is this a good movie, in itself? Now, the other posts. It is obvious that the American cut is different than the Australian version. Correction: The DVD is different. It would seem that at 'live' showings in the USA, there was a Q & A. Parts of this appear as part of the DVD version.So, what about the movie? It's a good story, well acted. Judy Davis does the oppressed woman very well. So well, that it indicates some bravery on her part taking these roles. The invariably competent Geoffrey Rush is an excellent drunk. I suppose most of us have met his like. The camera work is fine, but the sound (all that splashing water!) is not good.For the social psychologist, this is an interesting rendition of the effect of inherited characteristics through three generations. It is likely that more people have read 'Surviving Maggie' than have viewed 'Swimming Upstream'. I usually refrain from suggesting that people take in both the film and the book. In this case, You might enjoy both. There's a six-months wait for the book at my local library!

This is a great movie with great acting & good story. I happened to see it available on the library shelf and thus grabbed it home for a look. The movie was better than I anticipated.The superb acting of Rush & Davis contributed a lot to this movie. Up to a point while watching the movie, I found myself scared & disturbed every time when Rush (the Dad) appeared. This is how effective & successful his acting is in it. Equally effective & successful is Davis' acting as the mom.Some already mentioned in the earlier review, and now I concur that the young actors in this movie are all very attractive, especially Spencer (Tony). He truly looks very cute & gorgeous in this movie. Perhaps, the short hair cut fits him well. Even the young kids look very cute as well. Watching these young people in the movie makes me feel younger! :-) Tony's such treatment by his dad is absolutely saddening. Such pinpointed negligence & almost hatred of a son by a dad is very hard to justify, no matter how bad & disturbed the dad's life & childhood has been.

"Swimming Upstream" reveals an intense dysfunctional psycho drama behind a competitive sport. It is as moving about a macho male athletic culture, here focused on swimming, as "Friday Night Lights" was about football, particularly as dysfunctionally fueled by alcohol.Geoffrey Rush gives a searing performance as an alcoholic patriarch who arbitrarily plays his sons against each other for his attention and approval.Judy Davis, who usually masters powerful women, here is memorable as a buffeted mother drained by caring for five children, poverty and her occasionally violent husband.Claustrophobic family dynamics are well-captured, particularly in showing how childhood experiences shape adults emotionally forever and what was once a refuge becomes torture.When the sons reach adolescence the screen is filled by blue-eyed Jesse Spencer (he's in a crew-cut with rippling muscles in the pool so much that I didn't recognize him as the very clothed, longish haired doctor in TV's "House") and the young men in small bathing trunks playing his brothers, in heightened scenes of very physical sibling rivalry and closeness.The visuals and production design well communicate the bloke culture of Brisbane in the 1950's and early 1960's, from the fading docks, to the pubs, to the locker rooms, to the union halls, that is brutally carried into the family.The shocked smile on Spencer's face as "Tony Fingleton" discovers a wider culture through his swimming, heck with admiring women in it, is heart warming as I thought that if someone doesn't give that guy a hug already I'll reach through the movie screen and do it myself.Russell Mulcahy's directing, however, frequently undercuts the power, with unnecessary narration and gimmicky camera moves during intense scenes.The timetable as years go by is a bit confusing, especially as annual tournaments repeat.

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.