The Boys in the Boat
The Boys in the Boat is perfect for any movie fan who thinks “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.” Director George Clooney adapts Daniel James Brown’s best-selling non-fiction book in an intentionally old-fashioned style. The film adheres to the classic structure of an inspirational sports drama, leaning upon many of its conventions. In a sense, that’s mildly disappointing, given that we’ve already seen roughly a million pictures made this way. Old formulas can continue to work, though, and this one executes it well enough to succeed as a crowd-pleaser.
The year is 1936. The University of Washington’s rowing team is a perpetual loser. Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) has been tasked with changing that scenario. He assembles a team of working-class students, including Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a talented yet undisciplined young man who only signs up for the pay. The film gives us the requisite training montages wherein Al whips Joe and the others into shape. There’s also an obligatory romance between Joe and a well-to-do student, Joyce Simdars (Hadley Robinson).
A good underdog story is always fun. The Boys in the Boat has one. Ulbrickson improves the team, leading them to a series of victories that goes all the way to Olympic Games in Berlin. Although there’s never any doubt about what the outcome will be – a movie likely wouldn’t have been made had they lost – the specifics of the team’s rise are captivating, especially a huge gamble Ulbrickson takes that earns the wrath of university officials. Even if the outcome is preordained, the portrait of determination holds your interest.
Clooney is savvy enough to make rowing more exciting than it may seem on the surface. The film provides lots of details about rowing technique and the sorts of strategies that rowing teams utilize. Gaining an understanding of the process allows us to fully appreciate what it means when the team starts to gel. Together with cinematographer Martin Ruhe, the director gets the camera in close on the members as they compete. That’s essential because, from a distance, rowing isn’t visually thrilling. It’s people in a boat moving in a straight line. When we can see the grueling physical nature of carrying out the maneuvers, the sport suddenly becomes stimulating.
Nice character moments additionally help the plot overcome its predictability. I really like the scenes spotlighting Joe and the team’s boat-builder, George Pocock (Peter Guinness), a guy who understands the psychological toll competitive rowing takes on participants. He gives sage advice, without ever making it obvious that’s what he’s doing. The relationship between Joe and Ulbrickson, which is always respectful but occasionally tense, captures the mutual dependence coaches and athletes have on each other.
The Boys in the Boat lacks the in-depth plotting that made, for example, Seabiscuit an extraordinary work. The film is still a dependable, entertaining true story that lifts you up.
out of four
The Boys in the Boat is rated PG-13 for language and smoking. The running time is 2 hours and 4 minutes.
