The themes of this film are teamwork and self-absorption. In other words, the film is more about the boat than the boys on it, at least if you believe Rhapsody’s script, which calls rowing “more poetry than sport.” However, the film focuses on one athlete in particular. Joe Lantz (Callum Turner) is introduced to us as a homeless student sleeping in his car, then helps guide the racing shell (and the movie) across the finish line. He joined the team only because it came with a bed and a paycheck, and his shoes have holes in them.
The poem is written at times, such as when Joe is having a crisis of confidence (as evidenced by his lack of synchronicity with his teammates), and at other times, Joe’s amiable coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel There are some beautiful scenes, such as the scene in which he rides a boat on behalf of the man (played well by Edgerton). In a key scene during his exile, Joe visits George Pocock (Peter Guinness), a renowned designer and maker of racing shells, at school. While they and Louhe’s camera gaze at this ordinary scene, he speaks to Joe lyrically and metaphysically. Mortals might mistake it for a boat. When all eight of them work in harmony, George tells Joe, they become inseparable from their racing shells. ”
It’s a great line, even if it’s somewhat similar to “The Best Kid” in its mysticism. (Another translation: There is no “I” in “team”.)
Not much else to complain about. The acting is solid, especially Hadley Robinson as Joe’s girlfriend Joyce and Luke Slattery as Bobby Mock, the team’s conductor who does the navigation and steering rather than lifting the oars. He is a different kind of coach and is more integral to the team’s success than meets the eye.
Clooney lives up to the role here, coaxing all-too-familiar material into believable performances from a cast that creates a story that evokes more suspense than it deserves, even for those who already know the ending. .
It’s Oscar season. The Boys in the Boat is a great-looking, engrossing true story, superficially similar to 1981’s Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire, but with an anti-Olympic drama. There is no theme of Judaism and faith. If there’s anything missing from The Boys in the Boat, it’s content. And, as Al preaches to his rowers, no matter how great the performance, “they don’t give you gold medals for style.”
PG-13. At area theaters starting December 25th. Contains strong language and smoking. 124 minutes.