Swimming Upstream
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) | Release Date: February 4, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Swimming Upstream evokes time and place without being showy about it and offers an altogether invigorating experience. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Rush and Davis shine, and the drama is engrossingly told until it turns sadly sentimental in the last minutes. Read full review
70
VarietyDavid Stratton
Distinguished by some unusually fine performances, but the lack of a satisfactory third act diminishes overall result. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
A passionately told tale. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The role, one of the meatiest of Mr. Rush's career, is equal in flash and complexity to his turns as the pianist David Helfgott in "Shine" and the Marquis de Sade in "Quills." Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Gripping family drama keeps Swimming Upstream from going under. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAkiva Gottlieb
Rush and Davis perform strikingly against type, suffusing an otherwise average genre pic with quiet dignity. Read full review
60
EmpireDan Jolin
Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis, predictably impressive in the roles of abusive, alcoholic dad and troubled-but-tough mum. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
Its smallness of scale, and undemonstrative nature, could make it a welcome change of pace from Hollywood bombast, especially for fans of the life aquatic. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Fingleton turned his own story into a feel-good fable; neither Martin McGrath's gorgeous cinematography nor the hypnotic score by Run Lola Run(1998) composers Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil's can compensate. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Rush has never played anyone this starkly unsympathetic, and he proves to be very good at playing very bad. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLuke Sader
Without them (Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis), the melodramatic chronicle of real-life swimmer Tony Fingleton's formative years would have very little going for it. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Treads water. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The film begins as a delicate duet between Rush and Davis, but as Rush spirals out of control, his performance becomes a flashy, over-the-top solo akin to his hammy turns in "Shine" and "Quills." Read full review
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