Way Upstream

I saw this a couple of times back in the late 1980s and would love to see it again. Very funny, at times darkly so. Surreal. A sort of 'Deliverance' on the UK canals?

Odd situations... strange plot twists. The actor who plays the madman is quite convincing, but it's well acted all round.

Originally shown on the BBC (maybe it was a 'Play For Today', I can't remember). And that is about all I can type about this one from memory, so bear with me while I try to fill up IMDb's ten line minimum review requirement.

There we go. Recommended. BBC please re-transmit this one!

i watched this movie on TV in 1987 i recorded to video and watched it countless times. i was very lucky recently to be given a DVD copy.it is nearly 20 years since i have watched this comedy/drama and it did not disappoint me.

the story begins with two couples the guys are business partners. as soon as they step on the boat the bully husbands wife is not happy with anything about the boat she wants to go home .the tension builds from the first day.

the other business partner is a weak guy and as no guts whatsoever.

the movie really gets going when keith one of the partners goes back to his factory to settle a dispute.and leaves alistair in charge of the boat.

within minutes alistair has grounded the boat .they all think they have met a lucky mascot vince who comes to their rescue ,he refloats the boat and june invites him on the boat for a drink at the annoyance of keith her husband who says "we don't even know who this guy is" the story quickly unfolds as vince is a phsycopathic madman. ENJOY

I have no nostalgic ties to the film, which seems to be the only valid reason anyone could derive even an ounce of enjoyment from it today.

Unfortunately, Way Upstream feels dreadfully dated and suffers from hopelessly wooden acting. The soundtrack is grating, akin to fingernails scraping down a blackboard, making it an ordeal to endure.

The cinematography fails to capture the charm of the English riverside, instead framing the entire film with uninspired, drab scenes dominated by bleak, uninteresting water. There's little to no scenic interest, and the movie spends far too much time focusing on the dull, dank surroundings.

I struggle to find any positives in this film. It's a painfully boring flashback to the 1980s and serves as a comprehensive lesson in how not to make a movie for a modern audience. Way Upstream is absolutely one to avoid.

I have watched this film over the years again and again and my two sons have grown up with it. I have been a fan of gorgeous Stuart Wilson since I saw him in The Strauss Family and loved him ever since. The film is a mixture of comedy,tragedy and black comedy. All the characters are stuck in an unsatisfying rut of different types of frustration and disappointment with their lives. The films unique setting-aboard a small rented cabin cruiser on a so called "holiday" could put you off boating for life (unless you want to see Hadworth Brick works and dash off a postcard). All in all it is a really interesting film and the unexpected ending leaves you thinking.

The tonal shifts in this film are something to behold, and I don't think they're intended to be so... Nauseating? It's hard to say, as obviously it's meant to progress (without spoilers) from one genre to another but it seems neither subtle enough to be a slow burn, nor deliberate enough to be intentionally (and the keyword here is "intentionally") jarring.

It's a real head scratcher... On top of the strange thematic shifts, the film suffers from characters that are unlikeable across the board, with the exception of Emma, and unresolved plot threads. To give it credit, I would say the first 40 minutes is interesting enough that you want to see where it goes, but personally I felt that where it went was unimpressive. It's not an outright "bad" film (as it manages to be engaging to an extent), just a poorly realised one.