Streamline

A fifteen-year-old swimming prodigy with Olympian potential must first deal with some family ghosts.

The story told in Streamline contains two distinct aspects. This Australian drama has as its central figure a 15-year-old named Ben (Levi Miller) and its opening scenes reveal that he is a swimmer who takes the sport seriously. His mother, Kim (Laura Gordon), regularly drops him off at the local pool where he trains under Coach Clarke (Robert Morgan). Outsiders from Brisbane are taking an interest in him and it is soon evident that participation in the upcoming Olympics might be on the cards. But would such a development represent his mother’s dream rather than his own? Furthermore, putting swimming at the centre of his life would take him away from his girlfriend and confidante, Patti (Tasia Zahar).

Tyson Wade Johnston who wrote and directed Streamline gives us a film which handles its sporting side in a direct, very straightforward and traditional style: it hardly has time for subtleties but it keeps on the move and is adroitly performed. Ben is very much the central figure and is the person with whom we are asked to identify (at times, indeed, Streamline has something of the same appeal as today's novels that are aimed primarily at young adults). That comparison is felt even more keenly when the film’s emphasis shifts.

The closing scenes will again focus on Ben’s potential swimming career but over half of the film becomes a study of family tensions and of the need felt by Ben to shape his own destiny. In the early scenes we learn that Ben's father, Rob (Jason Isaacs,) has just come out of jail having spent time there for abusing his family. If Ben and his mother were victims so were the boy’s older brothers Dave (Jake Ryan) and Nick (Sam Parsonson) who now live their own lives. It would seem that none of them is prepared to show any sympathy for the newly released Rob although he appears genuinely remorseful. How Ben himself relates to this situation becomes central, as does his arguably necessary break from the controlling hand of his mother. He goes to live with his brothers, a move which in his eyes will give him independence, but it also becomes evident that Dave in particular is not respectable or responsible and has criminal tendencies. Ben’s new-found freedom could endanger him.

The part of Streamline that counts as a swimming saga may be rather simplistic, but on its own terms it works well. The family issues, however, call for a more detailed and more persuasive treatment than they get. Arguably, the father’s offences should be defined more clearly and that strong actor Jason Isaacs is given too little screen time together with dialogue which on occasion defeats even him (after declaring that “Jail is the best thing that ever happened to me” Rob is then required to deliver the film’s moral message). Unfortunately, the deeper aspects of the story are those that are the least adept. Nevertheless, Ben’s situation will resonate with many viewers and the film has its appeal even if its weaknesses are apparent.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast:  Levi Miller, Laura Gordon, Jason Isaacs, Jake Ryan, Sam Parsonson, Robert Morgan, Tasia Zahar, Steve Bastoni, Hunter Page-Lochard, Joey Vieira, Ebony Nave, C.J. Bloomfield, Paula Nazarski, Isaac Drandic.

 Dir Tyson Wade Johnston, Pro Jay Douglas, Blake Northfield, Nathan Walker and Piers Burbrook de Vere, Screenplay Tyson Wade Johnston, Ph Michael Latham, Pro Des Matthew Putland, Ed Stephen Evans, Music Angela Little, Costumes Vanessa Loh.

Bronte Pictures/Pantelon Pictures/Production/Screen Australia-101 Films.
86 mins. Australia. 2021. UK Rel: 11 April 2022. No Cert.