During the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the University of Washington’s (UW) rowing team made history when they had the chance to compete for the gold. On Dec 25, 2023, this story of hard work and triumph was finally told on the big screen. “The Boys in the Boat,” was directed by George Clooney and based on the book of the same name by Daniel James Brown.
The movie starts out following Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a student at UW who has been hit hard by the Great Depression. When Rantz hears that a spot on the rowing team means not only food and a bed but also money to pay for college, he heads to tryouts along with his buddy Roger Morris (Sam Strike) even though neither has ever had any rowing experience. The two make the junior varsity team along with six others. As they all train together and learn how to be competitive rowers, they overcome many obstacles on their road to the Olympics.
To properly portray an Olympic rowing team, all the actors not only had to learn how to row but also row well enough and fast enough to be realistic. The actors rowed for four hours a day for two months, to pull off the effect and in the end were able to make forty-six strokes mimicking the high rate the team had to use in real life to win.
Another part of the movie that made everything feel more realistic was the set and costume design. While often movies set in different time periods can come off more costumey, the 1930s look was pulled off in this movie. Not only did the clothes and outfits look like something that was worn during the time, the different shots of Rantz’s life outside of the rowing team allowed viewers to feel like they were actually watching something from the 1930’s. For example, Rantz goes to the soup kitchen multiple times in the movie and can be seen sleeping in a car as part of a Hooverville.
While the movie was a hit with audiences, earning a 97% on the Rotten Tomatoes audience score and an 87% from Google Reviews, the movie did not have the same impact with critics. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a “rotten” score at 57% saying that, “The Boys in the Boat tells its inspirational true story with heart and solid craftsmanship, but director George Clooney’s stolidly traditional approach prevents it from leaving much of an impact.” Despite this, audience members are saying that the more understated approach is exactly what ended up giving them the impact they felt from the movie.
“The Boys in the Boat” may have received mixed reviews, it is still a must-see for any history or sport buffs out there.

Poster design courtesy of The Refinery