Swimming Upstream ★★½ 2003 (PG-13) Tony (Spencer), the sensitive son of alcoholic dockworker Harold (Rush) struggles to survive in his working-class Brisbane, Australia home. Fed up, he and his siblings escape to the local swimming pool, where Tony and brother John (Draxl) show real talent. Harold pushes them to become competitive swimmers, favoring John over Tony, but as the brothers' stars rise, Harold's anger and past failures drag him into unpredictable, drunkenly violent behavior. Rush is exceptional in a film full of powerful performances, but the story loses steam towards the end as Tony must make the choice of following his father's dream or his own. Screenwriter Fingleton based the movie on the autobiographical novel he co-wrote with his sister Diane. 113m/C DVD. Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer, Deborah Kennedy, Mark Hembrow, Melissa Thomas, Tim Draxl, David Hoflin, Craig Horner, Brittany Byrnes, Mitchell Dellevergin, Thomas Davidson, Kain O'Keefe, Robert Quinn, Keeara Byrnes, Des Drury, Dawn Fraser;
Director:
Russell Mulcahy;
Writer:
Anthony Fingleton;
Writer:
Martin McGrath;
Cameo:
Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek.
