Against the Current

2009
R
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Struggling with a tragic past, a man with an urgent calling enlists two friends to help him swim the length of the Hudson River.Struggling with a tragic past, a man with an urgent calling enlists two friends to help him swim the length of the Hudson River.Struggling with a tragic past, a man with an urgent calling enlists two friends to help him swim the length of the Hudson River.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Photos75

+ 70

User reviews24

6.11.3K

Featured reviews

8mellowinman

Great Movie

Very moving. Everything about this movie worked for me. Top-notch acting. Great dialogue. Fantastic cinematography. I don't get all the wannabe critics, ready to call out directors, using terms like "heavy handed," "pretentious," etc. This was a compelling story, and any departures from the main story were there to add humanity. Everyone involved should be very proud. They made a movie that was different, and worth our time. (mine, anyway) The ending left no doubt in my mind what happened. I didn't find any ambiguity whatsoever. I felt it was moving, and insightful. I think people need to open up to those films that are a little different. This is one such film.

10ginny-klemm

Stunning...

This movie took my breath away. I LOVE Justin Kirk, that guy is amazing and he did not disappoint. I won't give away any spoilers but the story completely pulls you in and you can't wait to see what happens next.

I don't know that I loved the sideline with Mary Tyler Moore. I can see its value but I just wanted to see more of the three core characters. I also think they could've done more with the storyline with Justin Kirk's character and the difficulty with his wife.

This film is gorgeous to watch but will also stay with once the end credits are done rolling. Best to see it with someone so that you can discuss it afterwards!

mastershaman

What? Are all people here the filmmaker's friends? This totally blew

Shame they got 3 mil to get this film made. No wonder this is the director's first film. I have no idea what the other reviewers are on! "Warm" "Authentic"? So many other films 5 times as good could have been made for that kind of money. Totally boring "woo-hoo, watch me I'm witty, indie, and I have actor friends in high places"! I couldn't watch this at all. Full of lengthy pretentious "so-called-smart/witty/ funny" dialog interspersed with the prerequisite Sundance indie feel piano track and indie alt-rock band interludes while I'm watching Joe Fiennes swim in the water. Exhilarating entertainment! NOT! Turned it off half-way through screaming in pain!

dbpizzuto

Great and Riveting to be sure, but...

I'd say other have covered the ground in reviewing this movie quite nicely, so I'm not going to reaffirm the quiet and rather dark magic you can expect to find here

But I do have one complaint that doesn't reflect on any aspect of the movie aside from some rather inaccurate editing. Let me say I've lived in Poughkeepsie and its environs most all my life. (Poughkeepsie, NY is located 75 north of NYC and 75 south of the Troy Dam where this swim begins.) So, here's the problem: The Hudson IS beautiful, no doubt and it does have tides, but it heads north to south; therefore you're not in Troy in one scene and Hyde Park at 80 miles south the next; you're not in Yonkers about 25 miles north of NYC in one scene and next at the Rondout Light at Kingston about 95 miles north of NYC. (There were many, many such examples throughout the film, and these are not necessarily as the movie might have ordered them.)

So, why do that when all the showing the River in its natural ordering would have no affect on the story line and show off this River as it truly is and most likely most, if not all, reflect the actual filming order. Why? Sorry, just found it annoying having spent 8 years as a limnologist researching the River from Troy to the G. Washington Bridge at NYC.

10kam6318

Warm thoughtful film

I had the chance to see this at AFI festival in Dallas. The movie is beautifully shot, and some of the scenes along the Hudson are gorgeous. The story line is intriguing, and unfolds as the swimmer makes his way through the challenge of swimming the Hudson. As the first reviewer said, he has a tragic story that compels him to take on this feat. I won't divulge the details, but as his story comes out, it makes you think hard about some of life's issues. Definitely worth seeing.

The dialog is also well-written. Although this is not a comedy, the dialog is often quite funny. Fiennes may have gorgeous eyes, but I thought Justin Kirk's character really stood out in the film.

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Storyline

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Trivia
Mary Tyler Moore's last film.

Quotes
Jeff Kane: We are looking to buy a boat.
Boatyard Owner: You sure can't have one for free... Ha-ha-ha
[laughter, slowing turning into hysterical cough; also declining any help offer with a hand-sign. All shocked, cough lasts for about 20-25 seconds, and at the end, he spits out, saying:]
Boatyard Owner: What kinda boat?
Jeff Kane: [totally confused] What?
Boatyard Owner: What kind of boat you're looking for?
Jeff Kane: Oh... aah... smallest one you got...
Boatyard Owner: Like a canoe?
[laughing, accompanied with small, scary cough]
Paul Thompson: A motor-boat... with a weak motor...
Boatyard Owner: A weak motor?
Jeff Kane: Weakest one you got.
Katie: He's gonna swim down the river to the city, and we need to ride next to him. So, you know, just anything that you could put along the side...
Boatyard Owner: You swim to New York City?
Paul Thompson: Yep.
Boatyard Owner: Some sorta charity type of thing? A dollar for a mile, or something?
Paul Thompson: Not really.
Boatyard Owner: Hmmm... Well, I got an old whaler, with an old 70-horse-power engine, couldn't outrun the turtle
[showing them to the coast, to the boat. Small cough and all move towards the coast]
Boatyard Owner: Twenty-four hundred bucks...
Paul Thompson: [almost immediately] Sounds reasonable...
Jeff Kane: Yea, I believe that's the going rate for all boats with weak engines.
Boatyard Owner: You folks done much boating before?
[small cough - everyone looking at each other...]
Katie: Uhmmm... I have. I went to the summer camp on lake Oregon. We had a water skiing, sometimes they let us steer a boat.
Boatyard Owner: Well, this boat couldn't pull the turtle, much less a skier.
Jeff Kane: What's with the turtles?
Boatyard Owner: [after a short pause] Piloting a boat is lot different from driving a car.
Jeff Kane: But, it, uh... starts with a key, right?
Boatyard Owner: Yeah. But it has no breaks for starters...
Jeff Kane: Neither did my last car. I think we will fine.