I’m a sucker when it comes to the underdog story. George Clooney is back in the director chair with The Boys in the Boat, which is the story of the 1930s rowing team from the University of Washington that went from nothing to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This is written for screen by Mark L. Smith and it is an adaptation from Daniel James Brown’s 2013 nonfiction book of the same name.
The movie primarily follows Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) as he is navigating the balance of his studies and finding steady work to pay for his schooling, as well as food and housing. The time is during the depression era so finding a consistent job is challenging. He’s constantly finding himself with his back up against a wall but that never stops him.
After learning that he owes a balance to the university, he’s determined to find a way to continue towards his degree in engineering. From a class-mate, he learns of an opportunity to earn some money by joining a rowing team. Joining dozens of other young men, they all compete for one of the eight open spots of the junior rowing crew under the watchful eyes of coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton).
As expected, Joe does make the team which provides him a dorm room & additional assistance. With that weight off his shoulder, he’s now under the new stress of realizing there’s a lot more to rowing. It’s all about the boat and the team coming together as one. Much of this movie is the development of the brotherhood of these 8 athletes as their confidence grows when they realize what their potential is. Early rowing challenges are between this new junior team and the varsity team as they are unknowingly rowing for their shot at going to the olympics. This decision is heavy on Coach Ulbrickson as he knows he need to make the right call to continue receiving the funding needed to support the team.
Part of the unique turns this movie makes is that the 1936 Summer Olympics is held in Nazi Germany and is hosted by Adolph Hitler. Clooney does a great job in his direction through these moments utilizing an appearance of Hitler to speak more to the audience vs. spelling things out. These moments add some tension and I appreciate his craftsmanship here to layer in these part instead of making it a layered story.
The characters we spend the time with are great. I will say I was getting a lot of familiar vibes with some of the character dynamics that I’ve seen in movies such as The Might Ducks, for example, but it never took me out of this experience. It made me enjoy it more because it adds to that excitement of rooting for this team to make it. Don’t let that sway you from checking this out. The energy you feel from the races, the costumes, and the comradery all work and make this a great watch for anyone. I highly recommend this movie.
Rating: 4.5/5
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