The film review for “The Boys in the Boat” focuses on a patriotic sentiment, with George Clooney portraying a sports drama.

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George Clooney has been a charming and stylish fan of British culture this awards season while promoting his latest directed movie, which was partly filmed near his home in Henley-on-Thames. However, it is unfortunate to say that the film falls short, lacking substance. It is a stiff and preachy sports underdog drama set in the Great Depression, similar to his 1920s American football film Leatherheads from 2008, but without the humor. Strangely, the film seems to constantly urge us to feel nostalgic and sentimental about a time and place that none of those involved can truly remember or relate to.

This film depicts the true account of how a determined group of nine individuals from the modest University of Washington fought to participate in the 1936 Berlin Olympics for rowing gold, disregarding the disdain of Ivy League elitists and deceitful Nazis. Mark L Smith, the screenwriter who also co-wrote The Revenant with Alejandro González Iñárritu, has adapted Daniel James Brown’s bestselling book of the same name, while Clooney serves as director. Joel Edgerton portrays the gruff and reserved coach Al Ulbrickson, who makes the bold decision to bring his young and talented team to the Olympics instead of the more experienced seniors. Ulbrickson faces opposition from snobbish members of the US rowing authorities, who favor affluent East Coast athletes over his hardworking, blue-collar team who excel at rowing. (Viewers may recognize the Winklevoss twins from The Social Network, portrayed as entitled snobs who acquired their sense of superiority from their rowing team at Harvard.)

Callum Turner, a British actor, portrays Joe Rantz in the film. Joe is a young boy from a broken family who often went without food while studying. To pay for his schooling, Joe turns to rowing. Peter Guinness plays George Pocock, a British boatbuilder. In Berlin, Jyuddah Jaymes takes on the role of Jesse Owens. Jesse politely explains to his confused, American teammates that he’s running to defy the bigotry in his home country, not to prove himself against Germany. Daniel Philpott makes a brief appearance as the Führer, portraying him with a similar energy to Mel Brooks, as he growls and scowls at the success of the US team.

The overall impact is strong and direct, with intense racing scenes that play with the audience’s expectation of a character-building loss. The Poughkeepsie Regatta includes the impressive and historically accurate sight of spectators riding on a converted railway carriage alongside the river. However, the dialogue scenes are often overly exaggerated, resembling a comic book and lacking depth. When Joe has a chance encounter with his love interest Joyce (Hadley Robinson), their flirtatious conversation in what appears to be a library is incredibly loud, causing other extras to stare at their books in a trance. The inner thoughts of Coach Ulbrickson are uninteresting and the talented actor Edgerton is underutilized.

This could be described as a movie that captures the nostalgic essence of classic Hollywood films like 1940’s “Knute Rockne, All American” with Ronald Reagan portraying the courageous football player George “the Gipper” Gipp. However, George “the Cloonster” Clooney’s performance falls short in comparison and feels more like a lifeless exhibit in a museum.

Source: theguardian.com