The Boys in the Boat

The Boys in the Boat Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton

Director: George Clooney

What’s Good: The film highlights some important moments in sports history leading up to World War II. The depiction of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin is decently thrilling. The rowing sequences feel real, given that the film cast real boat club members to make the rowing seem exciting.

What’s Bad: The direction is far too standard. There’s little room given for character growth, and Joe’s central character comes off as far too boring for a down-on-his-luck student. The pacing is way too slow, and the historical context is limply shoved into the foreground without much fascination beyond the ho-hum facts.

Loo Break: A good loo break moment in The Boys in the Boat is when Joe is briefly invited up to the room of a girl he fancies. Not much happens in this scene beyond some standard swooning, and Joe makes a slow exit through the window when the RA suspects a boy is in her room. There’s no major development in their relationship in this scene, and it can be easily skipped.

Watch or Not?: There’s not enough excitement or intrigue around this true story to warrant watching The Boys in the Boat.

Language: English

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 124 minutes

User Rating:

‘The Boys in the Boat,’ directed by George Clooney, follows the story of the University of Washington men’s eight rowing team. Led by rowing coach Al Ulbrickson and played by Joel Edgerton, the rowing team is able to go as far as to compete in the Olympics. Part of that team is Joe Rantz, played by Callum Turner, a student who is down on his luck but manages to row his way into fame.

The Boys in the Boat Movie Review: Script Analysis

The script simplifies most of the non-fiction novel by Daniel James Brown to become a palatable sports biopic. It’s framed in a manner as being told from the perspective of Joe Rantz at an older age, relaying his true story to the next generation of rowers. The build-up to the big Olympic rowing event is pretty standard, complete with training montages, an old-fashioned romance, pep talks, and rowing sequences shot to be thrilling (or about as thrilling as rowing can be).

The 1930s setting briefly glazes over the historical developments of the era. Aspects of a crumbling economy and crowded lines for soup are addressed but not explored much past that once the rowing narrative takes over. Interesting facts about how the 1936 Olympics were attended by a rising Adolf Hitler and featured the trailblazing Jesse Owens are treated less like important moments of the era and more like briefly acknowledged tidbits. Considering how much more compelling both of these iconic historical figures were, it makes the rowing story pale in comparison by highlighting far more engrossing stories beyond this routine sports drama.

The Boys in the Boat Movie Review: Star Performance

The cast is placed within very safe roles that lock them into typical archetypes of the sports biopic genre. Callum Turner gives a decent performance as Joe Rantz, but he’s not given much to work with. He remains a fairly stoic individual as he darts between studying for class, training for the rowing team, and going on dates with his crush, who rolls out the red carpet for their relationship with little to no conflict.

Joel Edgerton also doesn’t have much room to shine as the standardly strict and hopeful coach Al Ulbrickson. He looks down on his chances of his rowing team going all the way to the Olympics and will later fight for their chance to compete with fundraisers and speeches. Edgerton remains just as firm as Turner, rarely veering out of the narrow lane he’s been given. The most appreciative aspect of the casting is that Clooney went with some real rowers for some of the rowing competition scenes, and it does give the film an air of authenticity.