Swimming Upstream DVD > Reviews > Swim down under!

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Easy to watch  -  start to finish .
Disadvantages:	You may need tissues .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

:::Where did I watch the film?:::

I rented this dvd out from Screenselect.co.uk (free month trial). I'm not quite sure why I decided I wanted to watch it. I'd never even heard of the film until I saw it on a list of recommendations.

:::Who is the film aimed at?:::

The film is rated 12. This is probably due to some of the violence contained in the film.

I imagine this film would appeal to a variety of people although someone as young as twelve may not like the seriousness of the film - there will not be much to laugh at or about!

:::Dates:::

The film was released in Australia (where it was made) in 2003 and didn't come out in the UK until the 10th June 2005.

:::Film Director:::

The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy, if you were ever to read his CV it would include work such as the following:

Mysterious Island
Culture Club: Greatest Hits
AC/DC: Family Jewels
The Dale Earnhardt Story
20th Century Masters: The Best of Alternative '80s - The DVD Collection
Queen: Greatest Video Hits 2

:::Length of the Film:::

Approx. 114 minutes.
(I must admit the film seemed much quicker than that - a good sign, surely?).

:::The main Actors/Actresses in the film:::
Geoffrey Rush .... Harold Fingleton
Judy Davis .... Dora Fingleton
Jesse Spencer .... Tony Fingleton
Tim Draxl .... John Fingleton

Geoffrey Rush is a very well known and respected actor he has worked in some very highly rated movies for example; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl playing Barbossa and Nigel in Finding Nemo.

Judy Davis, has a huge biography although a lot of her work has been based in Australia. She is also a very highly thought after actress.

Jesse Spencer, this guy is lush. If you ever watched Neibours you may remember the young Billy Kennedy! He played the main part of Swimming Upstream as Tony fingleton incredibly well.

Tim Draxi plays Tonys brother in the film and also plays the role extrembly well. Draxi has featured in several other Austrailian films. None of which I can comment on.

:::The plot:::

Okay, take a deep breath we've finally arrived at the most important part of the review - the plot.

Dora and Harold Fingleton have five children:

Tony
John
Harold Jr.
Ronald
Diane

The era is the 1950's and the country is Australia. This true life story follows the footsteps of Tony Fingleton a young lad who is looking for acceptance from his father. A lad who tries his hardest to achieve everything he can, not for his own sake but for his fathers. Harold Fingleton liked a tipple and we are not just talking one or two... He was abusive to his wife and mentally torturing his son.

Tony knew he wasn't very good at cricket or football and his father use to call him a poof because of this. Then one day his father discovered that Tony and his brother John excelled at swimming. Rather than pushing both brothers into suceeding Harold was only interested in helping John to achieve greatness (but did he?). - You're have to watch to find out! What I will say is that Harold did cause a divide between brothers and this was very hard to watch.

Tonys problems with his father left a lump in my throat, it was truely moving and without sounding to stupid it was completely realistic you can imagine this happening and feel so much sadness for
the lad. Dora was a great mother and was very close to Tony but her life was very difficult and although she spoke out about Harolds neglect her braveness was not rewarded or recognised initally.

:::Conclusion:::

You don't have to be a fan of swimming to enjoy this film. I'm glad I've watched it and I'd recommend it to you - my only critisim would be that there are several questions left unanswered for example why did his father treat Tony differently?. You hear a little about Harolds past - but not enough to really understand.

The film does have a happy ending you're be glad to hear.

Thanks for reading and rating!

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