The Boys in the Boat

Well, the films studios have dumped just about every 'big' film into the theaters so 1) they can hopefully be considered for Academy Award nominations, and 2) so they can make an incredible profit considering a fair amount of people who have this time off either from work or school. The problem is that they've flooded the market all at once. Both "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" and "Migration" opened horribly, "The Boys in the Boat" should profit considering this is the quintessential underdog film.

This is a sports drama based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown. The film centers around the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. This inspirational true story follows one coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) and a group of underdogs, including Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), Don Hume (Jack Mulhern), Shorty Hunt (Bruce Herbelin), Chuck Day (Thomas Elms), Bobby Moch (Luke Slattery), and others at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world. The boat builder, George Pocock (Peter Guinness) plays an amazing pivotal role as the boys mentor and confidante.

Others to round out the cast are Sam Strike as Roger Morris, Wil Coban as John McMillin, Tom Varey as Johnny White, Joel Phillimore as Gordy Adam, James Wolk as Coach Tom Bolles, Hadley Robinson as Joyce Simdars, Courtney Henggeler as Hazel Ulbrickson, Al's wife and Glenn Wrage as Coach Ky Ebright.

This was amazingly well directed by George Clooney ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" '02, "Good Night, and Good Luck" '05, "Leatherheads" '08, "The Ides of March" '11, "The Monuments Men" '14, "Suburbicon" '17, "The Midnight Sky" '20, "The Tender Bar" '21) plus TV. As with other actors that have shifted from acting to directing i.e. Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Bradley Cooper, and others, if Clooney ever wanted to step from in front of the camera to behind it, he would not have any problem with that since his talent is evident. As with the case of "Maestro" with Cooper directing that, being an actor has got to serve them exponentially. This director has this innate ability to bring his actors to a place where the emotions emitted can and are poignant, clear, all the while being subtle when it's needed. He's a name one looks for when he directs. It was equally well written by Mark L. Smith ("Seance" '06, "Vacancy" '07, "Vacancy 2: The First Cut" '08, "The Hole" '09, "Martyrs" '15, "The Revenant" '15, "Overlord" '18, "The Midnight Sky" '20, "The Marsh King's Daughter" '23), based on the book by Daniel James Brown. Certainly this writer knows his way around the workings of a taut script, and we can definitely see it with this screenplay. This has got to be one of the most quintessential underdog stories replete with a rag-tag team--some have never rowed a boat, a coach that needs to prove himself with those over him, they are at the Summer Olympics in Berlin in 1936--prewar with Hitler spectating. It was basically a do or die situation. The premise of this was already great fodder for an outstanding film and Smith was able to hand us just that in spades!

Wow, what can I say, but this film is one all should see. If our society needed a shot in the arm, it is right now, and this film delivers that shot and more. This will undoubtedly be considered come Oscar time for picture, directing, writing and photography by Martin Ruhe asc. Be prepared to be wowed! I sure was!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                           Rated: R                                        123mins.