Summary
- Director George Clooney brings classic Hollywood themes and an uplifting story to life in The Boys in the Boat, which features a strong performance from Joel Edgerton.
- The film follows Joe Rantz, a college junior who overcomes adversity to join the university’s rowing team and pursue his dreams, all against the backdrop of the Great Depression and elite competition.
- The Boys in the Boat balances hardships with hope and inspiration, capturing the spirit of a bygone era, with great racing sequences and a sweet romance between leads Callum Turner and Hadley Robinson.
Director George Clooney hearkens back to classic Hollywood themes with an uplifting sports drama that would make Frank Capra and James Stewart, à la It’s a Wonderful Life, proud. The Boys in the Boat, adapted from the bestselling novel by Daniel James Brown, tells the true story of the University of Washington men’s rowing team, who won gold at the Munich Olympics in 1936. Their stunning victory was all the more improbable in the wake of the Great Depression, crushing poverty, and elite competition that never took them seriously.
The film follows Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a college junior living out of an old car in a dirty shanty town. Joe was abandoned by his father at 13-years-old and raised himself in a hardscrabble existence. He diligently stuck with his studies, paid his own way to higher education, but had run out of money to continue. Joe’s warned his outstanding fees would result in being kicked out of school.
Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) sighs when contemplating the upcoming men’s rowing crew season. The University of Washington was woeful in comparison to UCLA and the moneyed programs of the Ivy League. His staff puts out a notice for tryouts with a tantalizing hook. Anyone who made the team would also receive student employment and a place in the dorms. Joe leaps at the opportunity to stay in school and get an actual roof over his head.
Joel Edgerton as Al Ulbrickson
Edgerton is great as Ulbrickson puts the contestants through a grueling training regime. Joe struggles to stay awake in class from physical exhaustion. He’s noticed by a beautiful co-ed, Joyce Simdars (Hadley Robinson). She knew Joe from grade school when he had a crush on her. Joyce playfully flirts with Joe and a sweet romance begins. He wants to pursue her but has other immediate needs. Joe doesn’t eat when he sees her serving food to the poor. He’s too embarrassed to admit that he’s starving.
Ulbrickson whittles down the junior varsity team to eight scrappy students. Joe’s ecstatic to make the cut, but knows he’ll have to work harder than ever. He gets housing, a stipend for meals, and a new outlet to chase his dreams. Ulbrickson notices Joe’s hard work. The juniors soon outpace the senior starters in practice. They post remarkable speeds and raise eyebrows in their first race. Ulbrickson realizes these boys are different. Maybe they have a chance to accomplish something special.
Related: The True Story Behind Amazon MGM’s The Boys in the Boat
The Boys in the Boat keeps an even keel in the first act. Clooney (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Monuments Men) examines hardships but doesn’t go overboard with grief and sadness. Joe has holes in his shoes and clothes, and is perpetually hungry. He studies using a flashlight in the back of the car. The situation is desperate, but Joe’s not depicted as pitiful or forlorn. He has never been handed anything. Joe feels a sense of pride in making the team and staying in school. He’s a survivor who’s earned every step forward.
Great Racing Sequences and a Sweet Romance
Clooney keeps your attention rapt with brilliantly filmed racing scenes that capture the spirit of a bygone era. This is a critical achievement on multiple levels. The story’s outcome is known from the start; there is gold at the end of this rainbow. But the plot needs believable tension to facilitate the journey to victory. The first races offer a hint of the exceptional. The boys row feverishly through the water while dripping sweat, their muscles bulging as other boats try to keep pace. Clooney cuts constantly to the coaches, referees, and fans timing them on stopwatches. The audience understands they’re getting progressively faster and beating more experienced teams.
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The burgeoning love affair between Joe and Joyce gives the film old-fashioned heart. Both are shy but can feel a magnetic attraction that yearns for more. Their tender courtship doesn’t skip any steps. Joyce beams when Joe calls her “his girl” during a radio interview. They know that a lifetime of happiness together awaits. There’s no need to rush a physical connection. You can’t help but smile at their aw shucks, golly gee first kiss.
Wholesome Is Not a Bad Word
Edgerton holds the dramatic reins as events outside the water muddies their efforts to reach the Olympics. Ulbrickson had to wrestle with funding his team. Their success brought public acclaim but no financial windfall. The university couldn’t afford to send them to the Olympics. Ulbrickson’s furious that a less qualified crew would represent the United States just because their parents were wealthy. He refuses to let that happen without a fight. The film addresses classism without sharpening pitchforks. Ulbrickson appeals to better natures and fairness to give his boys a fair shot at glory.
The Boys in the Boat has been criticized for being too wholesome. That’s a sad indictment of modern times. Clooney tells a true story with positive intent and delivery. It should be enjoyed as such. There’s enough cinematic misery at the box office.
The Boys in the Boat is a production of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Smokehouse Pictures, and Spyglass Media Group. It will be released theatrically on December 25th from Amazon MGM Studios. You can watch our interview with George Clooney and Joel Edgerton below:
You can view the original article HERE.
