December 24, 2023
FILM: THE BOYS IN THE BOAT
DIRECTED BY: GEORGE CLOONEY
STARRING: JOEL EDGERTON, CALLUM TURNER, PETER GUINNESS
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
George Clooney’s previous directorial works have been a mixed bag of average to below average achievements (The Tender Bar, The Midnight Sky, The Ides of March, Leatherheads.) Few have been big successes and most are not very memorable. His most significant work as a director came back in 2005 with Good Night, and Good Luck which earned him an Oscar nomination for his work. That film focused on journalist Edward R. Murrow’s attempts to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Nothing Clooney has done since has come to close to being a similarly critical or commercial success. That could change with his latest, The Boys in the Boat. It doesn’t have the depth or social relevance that Good Night, and Good Luck had but it is likely to be a crowd-pleaser.
It is based on a true story of a Washington State rowing team that builds itself up to eventually win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It begins with some very whimsical music from Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat which suggests this will be far from a heavy drawn out drama. Rather, the air is relatively light and while main character Joe Rantz decides to be part of this team to help him pay off his college tuition debts, there aren’t really any major stakes here. In fact, this is a pretty paint by numbers, old-fashioned, conventional sports story. There are plenty of training montages that are almost a requirement for this genre. They’re edited to make us see the team go through a physical transformation. It’s very clear from Rantz’s early scenes though that he is already physically capable of handling the challenges of training and rowing with the team. Actor Callum Turner is a former model who has a perfectly symmetrical face and broad shoulders. There is no question he has a strong physical presence.
His story is the only one that we ever really get any background on. Most of the other team players as characters have very little to offer with the exception of Jack Mulhern as Don Hume. He’s the quiet, anti-social one who seems to have various physical and emotional challenges that, unfortunately, are never really explored or given much depth. Even Joel Edgerton as the team’s Coach Al Ulbrickson is sorely underdeveloped. Aside from a couple of brief scenes with his wife Hazel, he really doesn’t have much to do aside from giving some occasional stern words to the team and providing a few reflective moments. He’s not the focus here at all. That goes to Turner as Rantz.
Turner is good in the role. He no doubt has a big career ahead of him. I’m not sure how well he was directed to make us feel that he belongs in the 1930s though. Even his hair is noticeably bleached blonde which, correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t a “thing” young fellas did during the era. I’m sure, for whatever reason, perhaps to stand out among the mostly dark-haired team members that Clooney insisted his brown waves be dyed for the film. Either way, it is a bit distracting. Also forced into the narrative is his relationship with a fellow college student, Joyce, who he had a crush on as far back as grade school. The character and storyline have absolutely nothing to add to the story except to confirm that Rantz is straight and has a dutiful girlfriend waiting to cheer him on when he’s out on the major rowing competitions. She and Courtney Henggler as Ulbrickson’s wife have nothing substantial to do in the film. In fact, this is basically a story about white men on a masculine quest with supportive women by their sides.
Therein lies the problem and success of the film. Clooney and the screenplay do zero to make the film relevant to the changing roles of men, women, minorities (although the character of Jesse Owens is briefly featured), or non-heterosexuals since the 1930s. Clooney puts any such progressive characters aside to focus on this traditional white man’s goal of winning. Of course, this IS based on a true story from another era so can we really expect anything more? It’s a question of why we need to keep seeing traditional stories like this.
The answer of course is that audiences love them. As the film builds to its rousing climax in Berlin, with Hitler and Nazi’s everywhere, it’s hard not to hope for a big satisfying finish. There is definitely a LOT going on leading to this big moment during the Olympics and it IS thrilling and, as I previously stated, crowd-pleasing.
Still, the film doesn’t do much that’s new in any way and the stakes don’t seem very high. So, it’s best not to expect anything different here and just go along with the ride in the boat and enjoy the scenery.
The Boys in the Boat opens in theaters this week.
FILM: THE BOYS IN THE BOAT
DIRECTED BY: GEORGE CLOONEY
STARRING: JOEL EDGERTON, CALLUM TURNER, PETER GUINNESS
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
George Clooney’s previous directorial works have been a mixed bag of average to below average achievements (The Tender Bar, The Midnight Sky, The Ides of March, Leatherheads.) Few have been big successes and most are not very memorable. His most significant work as a director came back in 2005 with Good Night, and Good Luck which earned him an Oscar nomination for his work. That film focused on journalist Edward R. Murrow’s attempts to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Nothing Clooney has done since has come to close to being a similarly critical or commercial success. That could change with his latest, The Boys in the Boat. It doesn’t have the depth or social relevance that Good Night, and Good Luck had but it is likely to be a crowd-pleaser.
It is based on a true story of a Washington State rowing team that builds itself up to eventually win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It begins with some very whimsical music from Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat which suggests this will be far from a heavy drawn out drama. Rather, the air is relatively light and while main character Joe Rantz decides to be part of this team to help him pay off his college tuition debts, there aren’t really any major stakes here. In fact, this is a pretty paint by numbers, old-fashioned, conventional sports story. There are plenty of training montages that are almost a requirement for this genre. They’re edited to make us see the team go through a physical transformation. It’s very clear from Rantz’s early scenes though that he is already physically capable of handling the challenges of training and rowing with the team. Actor Callum Turner is a former model who has a perfectly symmetrical face and broad shoulders. There is no question he has a strong physical presence.
His story is the only one that we ever really get any background on. Most of the other team players as characters have very little to offer with the exception of Jack Mulhern as Don Hume. He’s the quiet, anti-social one who seems to have various physical and emotional challenges that, unfortunately, are never really explored or given much depth. Even Joel Edgerton as the team’s Coach Al Ulbrickson is sorely underdeveloped. Aside from a couple of brief scenes with his wife Hazel, he really doesn’t have much to do aside from giving some occasional stern words to the team and providing a few reflective moments. He’s not the focus here at all. That goes to Turner as Rantz.
Turner is good in the role. He no doubt has a big career ahead of him. I’m not sure how well he was directed to make us feel that he belongs in the 1930s though. Even his hair is noticeably bleached blonde which, correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t a “thing” young fellas did during the era. I’m sure, for whatever reason, perhaps to stand out among the mostly dark-haired team members that Clooney insisted his brown waves be dyed for the film. Either way, it is a bit distracting. Also forced into the narrative is his relationship with a fellow college student, Joyce, who he had a crush on as far back as grade school. The character and storyline have absolutely nothing to add to the story except to confirm that Rantz is straight and has a dutiful girlfriend waiting to cheer him on when he’s out on the major rowing competitions. She and Courtney Henggler as Ulbrickson’s wife have nothing substantial to do in the film. In fact, this is basically a story about white men on a masculine quest with supportive women by their sides.
Therein lies the problem and success of the film. Clooney and the screenplay do zero to make the film relevant to the changing roles of men, women, minorities (although the character of Jesse Owens is briefly featured), or non-heterosexuals since the 1930s. Clooney puts any such progressive characters aside to focus on this traditional white man’s goal of winning. Of course, this IS based on a true story from another era so can we really expect anything more? It’s a question of why we need to keep seeing traditional stories like this.
The answer of course is that audiences love them. As the film builds to its rousing climax in Berlin, with Hitler and Nazi’s everywhere, it’s hard not to hope for a big satisfying finish. There is definitely a LOT going on leading to this big moment during the Olympics and it IS thrilling and, as I previously stated, crowd-pleasing.
Still, the film doesn’t do much that’s new in any way and the stakes don’t seem very high. So, it’s best not to expect anything different here and just go along with the ride in the boat and enjoy the scenery.
The Boys in the Boat opens in theaters this week.