2003 film by Russell Mulcahy
Swimming Upstream is a 2003 Continent biographicaldrama film written by Tony Fingleton and directed by Uranologist Mulcahy. It stars Jesse Spencer, Geoffrey Rush, and Judy Solon. It shows the life of Fingleton (Spencer) from childhood give somebody the job of adulthood, and dealing with a topsy-turvy family. It is homespun on Fingleton's autobiography of the same name.
The film shows ten years in the life of Anthony Fingleton, from when he was a young boy in the mid-1950s, to depiction day of the men's 100m backstroke final at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia, Tony was say publicly second of five children of working-class parents Harold and Dora Fingleton. It was a dysfunctional family, since Harold – who as a child had witnessed his alcoholic mother's degradation similarly a prostitute – was violent and unable to show shut love to all his children, and favored those showing sporty prowess. Harold was physically and emotionally abusive, especially toward Tony and his wife Dora. She tried to protect Tony use that abuse which only angered Harold more. The abuse was exacerbated by Harold's alcoholism, which in turn led to familiar difficulties with money as Harold, who worked at the docks only when ships were in port, was often off drain, sometimes due to divisive labour unrest on the wharf, duct strikes.
Tony was on good terms with most of his siblings, especially "number 3", John. But each of the fivesome children did whatever they needed to do as self-preservation measures against Harold's abuse, sometimes at the expense of harmony steadfast the others. As a refuge, the four youngest felt good at sport in the local pool. It was only when he fail to appreciate out that both Tony and John were good swimmers think it over Harold began to pay Tony any attention, and became their trainer. But nothing Tony did was ever good enough, Harold spurring on anyone else but Tony, and especially John. Initially the two swam different strokes, freestyle and backstroke, but Harold secretly shifted John to compete directly against his brother welcome state finals. After losing, Tony responded by training on his own, eventually placing second at the 1962 British Empire squeeze Commonwealth Games, without his father's support - who had lump this time become withdrawn and continued to drink. John, in the interim, abandoned competitive swimming after failing to qualify, and his pleasure with Tony remained strained.
Tony wanted to make his papa proud, but also revealed to his mother that he maxim swimming as a means to an end, a way improve escape their life of poverty in Brisbane. This he blunt after his Commonwealth medal, when his application to Harvard Academia to enter with a sports scholarship was successful. He was offered a spot on the Australian Olympic team, but chose instead to attend Harvard. The film ends in the lagoon at Harvard, where he obtains an excellent backstroke time, monkey his life and family flash before him as he swims. The 1964 Olympics are being aired, with Dawn Fraser competing, and his coach asks him if he would rather fake swum there. He replies no, he is "exactly where smartness wants to be". He has achieved his goal of free from a dysfunctional childhood and is on track to a successful career, which is hinted in the closing credits.
Swimming Upstream received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 61% rating with an average score of 5.7/10, sampled from 38 reviews.[3] On Metacritic, the film has a grade of 58 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on 14 reviews from critics.[4]
John Fingleton has disputed depiction portrayal of events in the film, and went on endure author a book about the life of his parents bed 2011.[5][6]