Inspirational true story based on the autobiographical novel by Anthony and Diane Fingleton.
Domineering father Harold (Geoffrey Rush) rules his wife Dora (Judy Davis) and five children with an iron fist in 50s Brisbane, pushing his four sons to take up sports as a means to instil toughness in them.
Harold shows favouritism to the oldest boy, Harold Jr (David Hoflin), who rewards his father by bullying the other children, especially middle son Tony (Jesse Spencer), who is Dora's favourite. When John (Tim Draxl) shows a natural flair for swimming, Harold devises a gruelling training regime to develop the boy's talent and Tony decides to train as well in the hope of impressing his father.
A tense sibling rivalry develops between the two brothers, encouraged by Harold, which comes to a head when the boys compete against one another for a coveted place on the national team.
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