User Reviews

I liked all three main characters in this simultaneously lightly drawn but very serious and dramatic film... As Paul, Fiennes is, well, fine as the main character (who's determined to swim the Hudson river, for a very special and somewhat scary reason). His two friends, who accompany Paul in a "safety boat" are also very well cast and the three have an instant chemistry, and a finely woven narrative that makes it seem as if they might have known each other for years. Justin Kirk ("weeds") provides the character Jeff, the perfect light touch to our very serious protagonist. Jeff is smart, pragmatic, caring, and sensible and we find him doing many of the things we ourselves would be doing in a similar situation - but ultimately we never find out if any of it works. Elisabeth Reaser (the "Twilight" series) as Liz, also provides the perfect counterpoint to Jeff's light character by seemingly matching Paul's, really very serious dilemma with all the concern any friend would be feeling. Even though Paul's in a self-created situation, neither friend attempts to seriously talk him out of feeling as he does, but they seem to do their best to make life as inviting as possible while they are with him - especially Liz, who goes the extra mile to help Paul and hopefully make him see the light..

By the end of the film, the characters are ready to see a conclusion, and so are we - we've toughed it out for over 90 minutes watching the dynamic and we are anxious to see some sort of pay-off with Paul, good or bad. But the failure of this movie is the ambivalent ending. The fundamental question of the story - will Paul really kill himself? Is posed in practically every scene and is an essential, perhaps the ONLY point of the story. Yet, it's never answered. I feel the ending was a mistake and should have been handled differently... we, the viewer, ultimately feel cheated out of our conclusion to the story, and the ending makes us feel baffled, perplexed, confused and even a little duped.

Attended a Q&A screening of Against The Current at Sundance, and I must say, the film left me in a bad mood.

Yes, I enjoyed the cinematography of the Hudson River Valley, and the water photography was impressive. However, the subject matter and dialogue were contrived and predictable. Joseph Fiennes and Elizabeth Reaser's performances were a disappointment, and I felt Mary Tyler-Moore's cameo was unnecessary and distracting.

Poor Justin Kirk; I've loved him in every project, but his talent was wasted here. His "funny guy" lines were so terrible, but his attempt to make them palatable is to be commended.

I've come to expect more from Sundance, so I had to shake my head when the lights came up. Granted, writer/director Peter Callahan made a valiant effort with Against The Current, but I would have rather seen a more substantial, creative, forward-thinking film from him.

Recommended as a rental, if at all.

This was one of the worst films I've ever seen. Joseph Fiennes must have studied old James Dean movies before making this one, because all he ever did was look constipated, while wearing a perpetual frown on his face. Apparently, writer/director Peter Callahan must not be a believer in continuity or research. The "Big Swim" of the Hudson River is supposed to start just below Troy and end up at the Verazzano-Narrows Bridge, but guess what? The scenes move down the river, up the river, down the river, up the river, without the slightest attention to the proposed progression of the swim. At one point, when Fiennes character, Paul, has announced that he expects to finish the following day, the three-person party is approached by a sheriff's boat with two officers in it from Albany, who tell them that they've got 90 more miles to go to reach the bridge. My wife and I laughed aloud at the stupidity. Mary Tyler Moore must be desperate for work to have taken the idiotic role of the judgmental mother of Elizabeth Reaser's character. In one scene, Ms. Moore "pretends" to be driving a car while holding a drink, and never once looks at the road, as she spews venomous remarks about her various neighbors. The only bright spot for us was the performance of Justin Kirk as Jeff, a bartender turned swimming coach. Despite the pathetic script, he still maintained a level of professionalism and delivered his lines with conviction. Okay the music was decent, too. So, there you have it: a ridiculous plot, amateurish script, even more amateurish directing and editing, for a complete waste of time.

It is so nice to see a thoughtful film made for adults. The performances of Joseph Fiennes, Justin Kirk and Elizabeth Reaser were all excellent - considered and lacking in histrionics. Fun to see cameos by Mary Tyler Moore and Michelle Trachtenberg.

Some people might find this slow-paced but it held my attention throughout. The scenery down the Hudson River was a revelation.

* * * SPOILERS AHEAD * * *

The subject matter of suicide was handled very well. The two issues of whether someone has the right to take their own life and the reality of the pain of emotional, as opposed to physical, damage to a person were treated deftly and with subtlety.

All in all this is a wry, adult film which will linger in the mind long after the titles cease rolling.

This is a quiet film that grows on you. The three main characters are very real and their interaction grows on you. For me the dialogue was very authentic between the main actors and the subsidiary ones in the film – and at times quite humorous.

It's got a sensitive approach to a touchy subject which is suicide, but by no means does this permeate the entire film. The film is slow-paced and the emphasis is on character development and interplay. There are no high-powered revelation scenes but there is a humble intensity through-out.

The only one warning I have is that the ending lets you decide for yourself what will happen.

This is one of my favorite films. It asks the question: Is it ever OK to let a young, healthy man commit suicide? It makes one think: If that were my friend, would I let him do it? If I was in that awful dark place, would I secretly wish my friends would stop me? I saw the movie last year & it still comes up in conversations.

I love that the story isn't weighed down with religion. It's a true: "What would you do" movie. What is right?

The scenery is gorgeous. You can almost feel the rocking of the boat & the blub, blub, blub of our swimmer's breath as he works his way down river.

It helps too, that the star looks gorgeous in a wetsuit!

For me, ET is a horror movie. ET being marooned far from his home planet, ET having a strong belief in being good, ET spreading his belief to those close to him. A greater horror is that The Good who share a belief in Be Good just might be tempted to believe that the main alternative to Be Good is to Be Bad rather than Be Sensible.

For me, part of the first ever Spy Kids is horror too. Some errant little ones dealt with by teaching them to Be Good. I should point out that my early experience was of a strong literal biblical understanding of good that effectively blocked me from finding practical ways to actually be worthwhile.

Against The Current has the roots of my horror about Be Good. For me this story says a lot. While being a rather watchable story.

SPOILER. Mostly I do not say why I feel that about this story as it is in the air that it breaths. But who is Pasthule, played so scarily by Nimo Gandhi? He is Liz's mum's boyfriend and Liz even enquires beforehand if he will be there during their visit. The meal shows him to be highly tied up, in chains. The conversation between Liz and her mum after the meal has Liz looking horrified. He is subject to Be Good and cannot escape without rather highly skilled help. I recognise that type of chained one.