Simply Perfect

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

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.

Paul Thompson (Joseph Fiennes) is haunted by the lost of his pregnant wife Amy. He talks his bartender best friend Jeff Kane (Justin Kirk) to help him swim the length of the Hudson River. Acquaintance Liz Clark (Elizabeth Reaser) is intrigued and joins the merry band. Later, Paul reminds Jeff that his planned end date is the fifth anniversary of Amy's death. He tells his fellow travelers that he plans to kill himself at the end of their trip.I really love this trio. They have fun chemistry. They have also great depths. They have great interactions. I almost don't want them to have that detour with Michelle Trachtenberg and Mary Tyler Moore. The stars' presence took me out of the trio's journey. Instead, I would keep them interacting with non-stars. The best joke is the guy passing by in the truck yelling f*ggot at them. Each one of the three contributes something great to the group.

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.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.

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.