Victor (2008)

Despite having dreams of being a world record breaststroker since he was a child, Canadian Victor Davis came out of virtual obscurity to win the silver medal in the 100 meter breaststroke ... See full summary »

Director:

Jerry Ciccoritti

Writer:

Mark Lutz

Stars:

Mark Lutz, Ron Lea, Peter MacNeill

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Lutz	...	Victor Davis
Ron Lea	...	Cliff Barry
Peter MacNeill	...	Mel Davis
Polly Shannon	...	Donna Clavel
Sasha Roiz	...	Alex Baumann
Chris Owens	...	Dave Stubbs
Lynne Cormack	...	Adair Hanna
Debra McCabe	...	Leona Heyens (as Debra Lynne McCabe)
R.D. Reid	...	Dr. Schaman
Adam MacDonald	...	Dave Kolisnik
Jef Mallory	...	Greg Davis
Amy Lalonde	...	Jennifer Watt
Linda Prystawska	...	Susan Barry
Devin Delorme	...	Young Victor
Glen Oomen	...	John Moffett

Storyline

Despite having dreams of being a world record breaststroker since he was a child, Canadian Victor Davis came out of virtual obscurity to win the silver medal in the 100 meter breaststroke and shattering the long standing world record on his way to the gold medal in the 200 meter breaststroke at the 1982 World Swimming Championships. There, Victor and his coach, Cliff Barry, predict Victor will break world records en route to gold medals in these two races at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Victor's public bravado and hot temperedness, both extensions of his hyperactivity, irk his competitors, exasperate Cliff and sometimes place him at odds with the public and the media, both Canadian and international. From 1982, Victor has some spectacular swimming heartaches, some equally as spectacular swimming moments, and some potentially career-ending moments related to medical and legal issues all leading up to and at the 1984 Olympic Games. Through it all, he is supported by Cliff, his equally as ...

---

Plot Keywords:

character name in title

---

Taglines:

His Name. His Mission.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un coeur d'athlète

Filming Locations:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBC Television, Indian Grove Productions, Muse Entertainment Enterprises

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A Passionate Athlete

Victor tells the life story and tragic death of Victor Davis, Canadian swimming champion who set all kinds of records in the breaststroke and also fought a lot of health issues in his career as a swimmer. Those health issues also included mental health issues because he had one ungovernable temper that got the better of him.

Mark Lutz who is also something of an athlete as well as an actor has that dual persona serve him well in portraying Davis. Davis sustained so many setbacks physically, mononucleosis, spina bifida, an enlarged spleen the wonder was that he was able to have a career at all.

Davis also could not control himself when things went wrong. A highly specious decision about disqualifying the Canadian relay team in 1982 sent him on a rampage. What probably would be a highlight reel like George Brett coming out of the dugout to rearrange Billy Martin's skull after the pine tar incident doesn't go over in amateur sports especially when Queen Elizabeth is in attendance. She was after Queen of Canada too. There's a different mindset in Canada about these incidents except on the professional hockey rink. That's where Canadian fans can get into it as rough as the players. But swimming is an amateur sport and there are different rules to play by.

The tragic death of Davis got to me because years ago in my working life at New York State Crime Victims Board I did a case where someone was run down in a car as Davis was. To say that justice was not done in the Davis situation would be outrageously understated. My victim survived it, but could easily have died as Victor Davis did. His perpetrator got a slap on the wrist, considerably less than the four months of jail time that Victor Davis's killer got. The whole thing doesn't speak highly of the Montreal PD.

Standing out in the supporting cast are Polly Shannon as Victor's girl friend and Peter MacNeill as his father. Victor is a nice tribute to a genuine Canadian hero and sports legend.