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A DVD Review of...
 
Images (C) Hoyts, 2003 |
Genre: Drama
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer, Tim Draxl, David Hoffin
Synopsis: Directed by Russell Mulcahy. Swimming Upstream is the inspirational true story of Tony Fingleton, an Australian from a troubled family who found the inner strength to become a champion. Always overshadowed in his father’s eyes by his football star older brother, it is only when Tony displays an extraordinary swimming talent that Tony feels he has a shot at his father’s heart. This hope is short-lived as his father quickly decides that Tony’s younger brother John is, in fact, the more talented of the two and focuses on training John for glory. Tony finds the inner resolve and will to train even harder and although Harold pours all of his hopes into John’s successes, it is Tony’s career that flourishes.
Tony continues to hope that his success will bring his father’s love, but it only exacerbates the old man’s frustration and destructive bouts of alcohol abuse. Still, Tony perseveres, believing his father will come to appreciate him if he can make it to the Olympics. With fierce determination he rises to the top of the Australian team and in the heart-stopping climax Tony is faced with the decision between going for the Olympic gold and showing his father once and for all that he was always worthy, or pursuing the rest of his life far from home and the tyranny of his father’s disapproval..
Film Review: An interesting young male empowerment tale, "Swimming Upstream" utilises material that both looks and feels more like a TV movie than anything else and yet there's something more here. From Russell Mulcahy's interesting direction to powerhouse performances from all involved - there's a lot of heart and soul on display which lifts many cliched elements such as an abusive alcohloic father and sibling rivalry above the level one comes to expect. Its not an easy film by any means - long, very dry and over indulgent in many ways to hide the inherent lack of story.
Rush is the winner here. This is a difficult role to portray - an odious man who despite his love for his sons is more than happy to play them off each other, and treats his wife with both love and contempt. He takes on the difficult task of portraying a man who may have been a monster, one totally disappointed with the direction of his life and determined to take that anguish out on everyone around him. Yet without his fire, these boys wouldn't have been driven to go as high or reach as far as they did. Davis as the long suffering wife role also shines - she never goes the simple victim route, always showing Dora to have an inner strength and conviction. The two work off each other well and the sheer talent on screen reminds you how even limited material can be lifted by a performance.
The younger also fare well. Jesse Spencer does admirable work and effectively portrays the drive of the young Tony Fingleton, young crooner Tim Draxl is even more impressive as his brother John despite the character's more stereotypical depth. The sole big letdown of the film is the rivalry storyline of the pair (the most interesting of the subplots) is left dangling and that sabotages a feel good sense to cap off the flick. Mulcahy portrays the swimming races with effective sense of pacing, speed and split screens without ever losing track. The 50's neighbourhoods also come out looking realistically downbeat. Its a superbly crafted little tale without much flash but a lot of heart.- Garth Franklin
"Swimming Upstream"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 4)
Rating: M
Runtime: mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 1.78: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
Language & Sub-Titles: English
Clips: Trailers
Region 1 vs. Region 4: No R1 Available |
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DVD Review: After a short run in theatres, the swimming drama ain't making much of a splash on video. Short of trailers
for "Almost Famous", "Centre Stage" & "Erin Brockovich" there are no other extras which is a real shame considering who
was involved and this deserved a commentary track or even a featurette at least. The transfer though is excellent - colours are
spot on and naturally demure for the period, detail is extremely fine which lends a pristinely clean feel to it all with no noise or grain
visible though the very rare MPEG artifact does pop up on occasion. Audio is quite good too, esp. for a stereo surround track - dialogue nice and clear, the balance nicely handled and the score beautifully rendered. Overall an excellent presentation of the film but it doesn't make much use of the format in terms of supplementals.- Garth Franklin
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