The Boys in The Boat

 

   Director George Clooney tells the true story of the University of Washinton's 1936 crew team, a bunch of underdogs that learned to work as a team and overcome adversity and become winners.,

   On the surface, the screenplay by Mark L. Smith is a sure-fire crowd-pleasing sports film that features exciting race sequences, but the film may as well have been called "The Boy in The Boat" as its focus is on one particular crew member, Joe Rantz, played by Callum Turner. Joe is the only fully realized character out of the eight-man team. Crew members Don Hume, played by Jack Mulhern and Roger Morris, played by Sam Strike show a little personality as does coxswain Bobby Moch, played by Luke Slattery but that leaves four members of the crew we know nothing about (yes there is one scene where we do learn one of the crew was so poor, he stole clothes but that's it).

   The eight men work hard to become a team and beat the odds but knowing more about each member would leave audience more fully invested. As a character says, "we weren't eight men, we were one". And that one character is represented by Joe. So of course, we root for him. I also found myself rooting for Joel Edgerton who plays Al Ulbrickson, the coach and Peter Guinness, the wise old boat craftsman.

   Mr. Clooney's direction is pretty standard but it's the racing scenes that really sell the film. The cinematography, by Martin Ruhe, is terrific, especially the overhead shots of the boats. Those shots make the races even more exciting and poetic watching the crew as they row in synchronization.

    It's a good movie that will stir a crowd but like the boats it features, the story just skims the surface when there is obviously more story to tell below the waterline. Plot points are left dangling like oars at rest. A missed opportunity to make a good movie...great.