the boys in the boat
★★★
.5
starring: joel edgerton, callum turner, sam strike, and peter guinness
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REVIEWER: lyall carter
A 1930s-set story centered on the University of Washington's rowing team, from their Depression-era beginnings to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
With its 1930’s setting, underdog story, and old fashioned sensibilities, you could quite safely say that they don’t make movies like this anymore. And while it is a conventional tale told conventionally, there is a magic to The Boys in the Boat that grips your interest and holds it completely. An old fashioned underdog story of the best kind, The Boys in the Boat will have you cheering on the rowing boys as they seek to overcome all manner of obstacles in pursuit of Olympic gold.
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Based on the New York Times bestselling non-fiction book written by Daniel James Brown and directed by George Clooney, The Boys in the Boat tells the story of the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs, especially working class rower Joe Rantz, at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world.
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Director George Clooney wisely doesn’t attempt to follow the stories of all the rowers in the team, but focuses primarily on Joe Rantz, a young man that is more than out of luck during the Depression era of the piece. Joe’s wrestle with his own demons of the past are mirrored by that of the team as they seek to overcome personal and societal hierarchies to achieve the ultimate goal.
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The production design is immaculate, perfectly capturing not only the hopelessness of Depression riddled America, but captures the cold yet extravagance of the Nazi run Olympic Games in Berlin. The rowing scenes are crafted in such a way, with some superb cinematography, to build tension and suspense as the team battle to the finishing line.
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Callum Turner who has a starring role in the upcoming epic miniseries Masters of the Air, gives a sensitively reserved performance as Rantz, drawing you in with his vulnerability and tenacity.
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An old fashioned underdog story of the best kind, The Boys in the Boat will have you cheering on the rowing boys as they seek to overcome all manner of obstacles in pursuit of Olympic gold.
★★★
.5
