Warning: Contains some mild spoilers.
George Clooney’s latest feature film is currently, and will be until at least Paris 2024, one of the biggest talking points in the rowing world. On opening night, Harry Cordeaux went to watch the film.
The average film watcher is pretty used to sports films, often based on true stories. There are countless football films available, but rowing can only claim a few key titles in its movie arsenal. True Blue and Losing Sight of Shore are two examples.
The Boys in the Boat has attracted attention from those both inside and outside of the rowing community, which is interesting to see, particularly in the US. However, the same cannot be said for my local cinema in East Kent, with only about seven people occupying the 66-seater cinema screen on opening night, a sign of trepidation from those outside of our community.
So, with popcorn in hand, I sat back to enjoy rowing’s latest masterpiece.
Having sat in both the rower and the cox’s seat, the narrative from both the rowers and coxswains, and the coaches was something a person could expect to see at a regular club.
One could easily compare the personalities of the different Washington coaches to those at their own club and the training regime the team went through would not go amiss at any club.
The historic shells used, particularly in the trials section at the start of the film, felt not too dissimilar to the boats stored at the backs of the sheds at my own club and also reminded me of the coxed doubles I have seen training while away at races.
The movie itself follows the classic underdog story of the Washington Huskies going up against west coast rivals, California, and then on to compete for a place at the 1936 Berlin Olympics against the likes of Navy, Syracuse and Pennsylvania.
It had the right balance of rowing and life around the sport. There was a love interest present which I expected at the beginning to be something included for the non-rowers watching. However, as the film went on, it was clear that the emotional side of the relationship present in the film was incredibly important and it helped to enhance the community-like atmosphere present in the film, which was very moving.
The portrayal of rowing from actors who had never been on the rowing scene at all in their lives was enough to tell the story, with the use of creative cinematography detracting from any slips they may have had whilst shooting.
The camera angles used in a number of scenes involving rapid zoom shots where the camera would go from focusing on an entire bank of spectators to just one getting out their binoculars. Additionally, the use of foley (similar to ASMR sounds), when the camera was focused on the oarlocks during the races, really helped increase the tension and draw away from the fact these ‘Olympic level’ rowers had only been training for six weeks prior to filming.
I thought the set design was really nice, with the boat house being incredibly impressive as well as all the race scenes. It was interesting to see a series of lakes between Swindon and Cirencester in the UK transform into 1930s USA. I particularly enjoyed the spectators’ train in one of the races which traversed the course with the rowers (wait till the Henley stewards hear about that!).
The colour-grading definitely gave it a 1930s feel and gave the whole film a certain warmth.
I also liked the very opening scene as well as the concluding scene acting as a contrast to the main part of the film, so it felt like the viewer was getting closure on more than just one story.
There was an appropriate level of comedy to the film despite all the challenges faced by the crew, both on and off the water. It was nice how the Brits were referred to as the “ones to watch” as well!
Furthermore, there was something comical (to me at least) about them not carrying their boat in what we might call the ‘correct’ way. I’ll leave it up to you to spot that if you go and watch the film.
However, there was something not quite right about the Olympic race at the end of the movie, which had harsh steering from the other crews as well as the crew being able to miraculously gain over four boat lengths across the course, on sheer motivation alone, which did feel slightly unbelievable, despite the fact the film was based on a true story. As well as this, coxswains were all waving at each other! But, for the sake of cinema, we can put that to one side.
So, after hearing all this, is it worth going to see the film?
In short, definitely.
The cinematography was amazing, and it’s impossible to forget that the film is based on a true story.
I think it’s fair to say that, although you won’t walk out thinking ‘this is the best film ever,’ you won’t leave dissatisfied. If you are going to get ideas for your next race plan, or training regime which could include sawing tree trunks in half, then maybe not! And this film and its story should not be just restricted to rowers as it can be applied to so many things in life.
As identified by Sam Sheppard in his piece in 2022, we are already aware that rowing’s presence in mainstream media is growing and this film plays another key step in increasing this presence, which is good for both JRN and other organizations in the rowing world.
I hope that more films are released of this quality as a result of the success of The Boys in the Boat.
My rating: 4* (time to go and read the book!)
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