The greatest movie ever made..!

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Jesse Spencer is wasted on TV. He is a phenomenal actor. I was dazzled by his performance. Judy Davis, is, as always, top drawer. Although I don't much like Geoffrey Rush, I can't complain about his acting. I probably don't like him because he almost always plays characters with few redeeming qualities. Anyway, although the story is hard to watch for people who grew up in alcoholic or abusive homes, it is realistic and well-done. The family dynamics are portrayed so profoundly and truly that the swimming competitions, although central to the story, don't dominate in a boring way. Jesse's character, Tony Fingleton, is trying to succeed at something in life, despite the constancy of his father's hateful abuse. Tony never gives up, even in the face of hurt and betrayal.

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.

What should be a riveting and poignant family in crisis drama is ruined by the performances of the two most famous lead actors: Geoffrey Rush gnawing away and shouting his lines, and Judy Davis in half despair/screwed up face mode....all the fault of TV commercial schlock B pic director Russell Mulcahy. The performances of the kids are excellent and the set design, art direction and period detail, all perfectly photographed, have survived the heavy handed treatment...it is the TV level performances for the parent roles that become more than tiresome. Not to detract from what must have been a tough childhood, the story of this swimming family, the Fingleton's, is no doubt wrought in slapping and soaked in alcohol. Perhaps lesser known but equally talented leads would have been more satisfying and believable than the kitchen sink pantomime from Rush and Davis. I agree they are great actors but they are not in this film. The film was not a success and word of mouth was poor. Tim Draxl, Oz boy cabaret singer by night is one of the better performers in the pool in this one. The lame 80s lifesaver race pic COOLANGATTA GOLD covered the same territory, pestering brute dad playing favorites'n'all. Blame Mulcahey and his HIGHLANDER- RAZORBACK past for Swimming Upstream drying up.

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.