Posted on 12/21/2023 7:54:43 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Every few years, a real-life inspirational sports drama hits the big screen — think "American Underdog," "The Blindside" and "Chariots of Fire" — and reminds audiences of just how extraordinarily resilient humans can be when bolstered by a robust support system and personal ambition.
George Clooney's "The Boys in the Boat" is the latest film in this genre celebrating the values of a past era, specifically, teamwork over individualism and humility over personal ambition.
Releasing in theaters on Christmas Day and starring Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner and Hadley Robinson, "The Boys in the Boat" is based on Daniel James Brown's bestselling book of the same title.
Set against the backdrop of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the film tells the story of nine University of Washington students who, despite facing immense hardships, unite to pursue an almost unattainable goal — Olympic gold.
At the center of the story is protagonist Joe Rantz (Turner), a lonely yet determined young man struggling in the wake of the Great Depression. Viewers quickly learn his heartbreaking backstory: His father and stepmother abandoned him when he was 14, and he's been on his own ever since. He wants to make something of himself and attend college, but his circumstances are dire. He sleeps in a rusted-out car, stands in line at soup kitchens for his meals and patches the holes in his shoes with newspaper.
Determined to pay for his college courses, Rantz tries out for rowing, a sport typically reserved for society's elite and Harvard and Yale students. If he makes the team, he earns a small income, plus a bed and meal.
Young and physically fit, Rantz is one of nine young men to make the team, coached by no-nonsense coach Al Ulbrickson (Edgerton). Convinced his team is more capable than they believe themselves to be, Ulbrickson makes the ambitious decision to take his young athletes all the way to the Olympics.
Central to the story is the theme of perseverance against all odds: the challenges of rowing aren't just physical, though the film highlights just how grueling the sport can be. A beautifully shot period piece, "The Boys in the Boat" captures the aesthetics of rowing and uses nostalgic cinematography to add a layer of authenticity to the story.
But Rantz struggles with inner turmoil, grappling with his past and deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, which in turn causes him to become out of sync with his teammates. Struggling to align with his team, Rantz is temporarily replaced.
"Listen, I know it isn't easy to trust every other person on that boat as much as you trust yourself. But it's not about you. As good as you are, it's not about you, Joe. Or me, or anybody else. It's about the boat," Ulbrickson tells him in that particularly poignant scene.
He ultimately finds solace and purpose in the camaraderie and discipline of the crew team, but it requires him to give up his lone-wolf mentality and shelf his pride. It's George Pocock (Peter Guinness), a British designer and boat builder who serves as a mentor of sorts to Rantz and reminds the young rower that the sport isn't just about him; it's about the boat.
When the rowers are working in harmony, their "sweat and pain bleed into the grain" of the boat "as they become one magical thing that moves across the water like it was born to be nowhere else," Pocock says. "It's poetry."
The crew finally makes it to the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Germany after besting upper-class Ivy League students and financial woes. In Germany, they face one final obstacle: Nazis, led by a grim Adolf Hitler who wants nothing more than to beat the U.S.
Fortunately, the ending of "The Boys in the Boat" is an uplifting one well-documented by history, a tale of how teamwork, coupled with hard work, can lead a hero down a path of success and self-discovery. The film's climax, the suspenseful final race, concludes with the triumph of faith and unity over adversity.
A sweet subplot in the film is the relationship between Rantz and his future wife, Joyce (Robinson). She encourages him to persevere despite internal and external challenges, breaking down his frosty exterior.
"The Boys in the Boat" is rated PG-13 for language and smoking, including several misuses of God's name.
And though not a faith-based film, "The Boys in the Boat" highlights the biblical principles of faith, perseverance and brotherhood, reminiscent of the sports films of yore. It's a reminder, at a time when the country seems irrevocably divided, to look outside oneself and embrace the power of unity. For sports drama lovers, "The Boys in the Boat" provides a worthwhile viewing experience this holiday season.
"The Boys in the Boat" is distributed by Amazon MGM studios and also stars Luke Slattery, Peter Guiness, Sam Strike, Jack Mulhern, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Thomas Elms, Joel Phillimore, Tom Varey, Wil Coban and Chris Diamantopoulus.
Thanks for posting...read the book...MAY go see it in theatre
So desperate is the conservative movement to salvage its wreckage and claim mainstream relevance that it is trying to read Biblical values into a run-of-the-mill movie about team sports, one with absolutely no reference or allusion to any Christian principles.
And so ignorant are the writers about the core theology of Christianity that they think "leading a hero down a path of success and self-discovery" is Christian. St. Augustine and all the Church fathers will roll in their graves.
I have read this book more than once. A great read. Book called 9 Boys in a Boat. So hope they keep the story like the book.
Spot on and well said!
C’mon man. NO WAY would I watch this!
#1. It’s about “sports” (sort of) IF you consider rowing (sculling) a “sport”.
#2. We used to throw rocks at the Cornell rowing team for invading our fishing spot. They had the whole Inlet to practice their pussy sport. Why bother the fisherman.
So you have seen the movie? If not, your negative comments may or may not be correct.
A basic sports story with no particular Christian connection.
The happy talk seems to be based on it not being an unpleasant film to watch.
Anything associated with Clooney can KMA!😠
teamwork over individualism and humility over personal ambition.
SORRY, GEORGIE, “INDIVIDUALISM” IS WHAT MAKES YOU ...AN INDIVIDUAL...WHICH IS “WHO YOU ARE”
Take your TEAMWORK and shove it. THAT is the beginning of COMMUNISM, YOU KNOW, WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THE STATE.
Pretty sneaky.
I saw the in-theater preview the other day and it looked very solid.
George Clooney is a leftist, but he is smart and knowledgeable and in this he is only the Producer/Director.
With the exception of “O Brother Where Art Thou” I have come to avoid anything with George Clooney. The price any entertainer, of any stripe, pays when they open their mouth about politics. So I think I’ll just look up and read the book, and leave it at that.
I was going to say that mentioning George Clooney with Biblical principles is bordering on blasphemy.
What “manly” sport did you play? I’m guessing you wouldn’t last 3 minutes as a competitive rower before you’d pass out from lack of stamina.
“Oh, brother, where art thou?” Is very worthwhile. One of the few movies I would see again.
If this is of the same quality, it would be good.
At my alma mater, University of San Diego, the “crew team” boys were smokin’ hot. I’m not sure what you saw at Cornell, but the ladies of my college enjoyed watching the rowing team. Nothing girly about them.
Oh look! A bunch of white guys...
Must be evil somehow.
A country that used to be.
Read the book which was great. U Washington is still good in rowing.
There is such thing as a proper balance between individual and team efforts. Both are important. Neither should predominate.
Clooney isn’t celebrating anything; anyone who has read the book will know that he’s just following what Brown wrote. If anything, clooney’s learned not to replace the white UW crew with non-binary un-cis left-handed lesbian non gender Asian-Indian-Afro-centric gender question marks.
That said, if the movie is faithful to the book, it will be a good one. And that’s all a decent director needs do.
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