The boys in the boat

... Merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream ...

A huge bestseller when it was published in 2013, Daniel James Brown's "The Boys in the Boat" was a big hit in my circle of friends. The kind of book that gets recommended, if not passed around, pal to pal.

Set in the '30s it was the true story of the University of Washington junior varsity rowing team who not only gunned down the storied, legacy crews of California and Ivy League colleges, but went on to the 1936 Olympics in Adolf Hitler's Berlin. It was an adrenalized page turner, a movie waiting to happen.

Now that it's getting to the screen, it helps to have George Clooney in the director's chair. Although he stays offscreen, the double-Oscar-winning actor, producer and director is the biggest name on the project.

It's his face - generally recognized as one of the coolest guys on the planet - in many of the production stills and the "for your consideration" ads targeted at industry voters this awards season. George and co-producer Grant Heslov also took part in a recent Zoom press conference for the film along with cast members Joel Edgerton, who stars as taciturn coach Al Ulbrickson; Callum Turner, who plays team member Joe Rantz; and Hadley Robinson, who lights up the screen as Joe's sweetheart, Joyce.

Opening in theaters Christmas Day, it's a feel-good throwback to old-fashioned moviemaking.

Taking place during the Great Depression, the scrappy kids at their oars offered glimpses of optimism and hope, rare commodities in those tough times. Rowing was a popular spectator sport in that pre-ESPN era with spectators lining river banks and in some cases following the action in train cars on the shore keeping pace with the sleek 8-man wooden shells slicing through the water.

Not just an incredibly demanding sport, rowing was a culture, too. The rowing world was made of wood - not just the glossy racing shells, but also their big-doored, high-ceilinged boat houses. You can almost smell the resins and varnish coming from the boathouse surrounded by lush forest on the Seattle campus.

As the team keeps achieving more success, the gorgeous historically recreated settings move, first to colleges on the East Coast before heading for swastika-adorned Germany. Legendary speedster Jesse Owens was another member of the U. S. Olympic team that year. During the press conference Clooney acknowledged borrowing camera angles from Hitler's propagandist Leni Riefenstahl for the climactic Olympic rowing scenes.

"We like to use Nazis whenever we can for filming," he joked.

The mood was light during the Zoom press conference, now that the film was in the can and the cast's arduous training was long past.

London-born actor Turner, whose Joe Rantz is as close as the eight-man team can get to having a hero, acknowledged that he hadn't had any previous rowing experience.

"None of us had actually. And we turn up in February, and we get on the river. And it's snowing. And we're all in the tight shorts and freezing cold and have no skill at being in the boat. And after about three weeks, George and Grant come down to have a look and check in on us. We weren't in a good place. And I could see the pain behind the smile on George's face." "That wasn't pain. That was fear," corrected Heslov.

The boys on the real team hadn't had any experience, either. For Joe and several teammates, making the team - beating the scores of hopefuls for the eight seats (plus the coxswain) - meant getting room and board at the university.

Unlike Ivy Leaguers born to the sport, the junior Huskies were rough hewn. "They were lumberjacks," said Clooney. They came together as a team "out of necessity, out of hunger, out of having nothing else." The actors trained together for five months. Unlike their competitors in the film in new fiberglass shells, their boat, the Huskie Clipper, was made of wood like the original. Beyond just acting, there was a sense of athletic accomplishment for Turner and his teammates.

"The hardest part about rowing is that you all have to be in complete unison," said the actor. "There's no, like, hiding. And if one person is out by a millimeter, the boat suffers." For his part, Clooney faced a different set of challenges.

"The oars are, you know, 15 feet long. And then the boats are 40-some feet long. So, you can't get close to the boats with the camera. And you can't get side by side or ahead of the boats with your camera boat, 'cause you'll capsize the boat. So, we had to come up with a design to get in tight enough to make it exciting. Meaning, we're on an 80-foot arm on the boat with a 300-millimeter lens, 200-millimeter lens, down low, getting wet, trying to hold focus while you're doing that. So, there was a ton of, like, math to try to make those things exciting." On top of that, neither Joe Rantz or Coach Ulbrickson were especially loquacious. They were men of action rather than words. On the printed page this is no big deal. On the big screen it can be. Hadley Robinson's feistiness along with her beauty, and Courtney Henggeler's portrayal of the coach's wife, Hazel, go a long way to humanizing their male partners.

In a key scene, Joe and Joyce share what Clooney called "a 1940s movie kiss" - in a train station, no less. In a way, "The Boys in the Boat" itself is a 1940s movie. It's beautiful to look at, it wears its heart on its sleeve. It comes from an era when wholesome was cool. Standing up and cheering was nothing to be embarrassed by.

But the psychological reserve of its characters played better on the page than they do on the screen.

Despite Clooney's assured direction and the unbreakable spirit of the cast, neither the predictable script nor the soft sentiments of Alexandre Desplat musical score produce the irrepressible "Chariots of Fire" sorts of emotions that spell the difference between good sports movies and great ones.

We waited so long for this movie to be made, ever since Daniel James Brown wrote the story. A serendipitous set of events led to the story even being recorded, as Judy Rantz Willman just happened to have Daniel James Brown as a neighbor, and eventually persuaded Brown to visit her father, who was in hospice care. What he thought was a social visit, she saw as a book about to be written. His initial skepticism evaporated quickly, when Joe began sharing his story. In Joe's remaining couple of months of life, Brown met with Rantz several times to begin creating the outline for the book. He then met with the families of the other crew members, followed by two years of further research, aided by Judy Rantz. The eight were amazing people, accustomed to hardship and personal challenges. For example, when Don Hume's family moved from Anacortes to Olympia, Don tossed his belongings into a rowboat and paddled down Puget Sound to his new home, roughly 100 miles away. Look at a map! A multiple-sport letterman in high school, he had also placed third in a state pianist's competition. And Joe Rantz was such a standout athlete in gymnastics at Roosevelt High School, that Coach Ulbrickson already had his eye on him then. So, what did we miss in the movie? Joe's difficult pre-college life is mostly absent, and worth the read by itself. We also miss Joe's wanderings around Berlin, where he witnesses Germany's horrific treatment of its Jewish population, under its totalitarian leader. Like nearly everything from Hollywood, a bit of romance is thrown in to add spice, but the story shines, throughout the picture. Here and there a bit of drama is added for effect, but personalities presented by the actors conform closely with who they represented. George Pocock really was the sage he seemed in the movie. Don Hume comes across as a bit socially awkward in the movie. A good friend met him several years ago where she worked, and described him as, uh, gruff. The fearless audacity of the team comes through in a story told only in the book. Before sailing to Germany for the Olympics, the team decides to drop in, unannounced, on Franklin Roosevelt at his home. Although they didn't find the president at home, they did spend the evening there. The story behind this movie is too remarkably wonderful to be fiction. See the movie, but by all means read the book!

The Boys In The Boat is a cinematic gem that gracefully navigates the waters of history, sportsmanship, and the indomitable human spirit. With a compelling storyline rooted in real-life events, the film effortlessly pulls you into the world of rowing, beautifully capturing the essence of teamwork and resilience. The performances are exceptional, conveying the depth of emotion that accompanies the pursuit of Olympic glory. The cinematography is stunning, making each stroke of the oar a visual spectacle. This is not just a sports movie; it's a heartwarming and inspiring tale that will resonate with audiences of all ages. The Boys in the Boat is a triumph that leaves a lasting impression, celebrating the triumph of the human spirit against all odds.

While The Boys in the Boat is a compelling film, some viewers may find fault in its pacing, as certain moments may feel rushed or unevenly distributed. Additionally, some critics argue that the film, at times, leans heavily on sports movie clichés, potentially making it predictable for those well-versed in the genre.

The story is incredible, so I was surprised how flat the movie was. Yes, you get some feel-good moments, but there were so many missed opportunities to make this a truly great movie. The narrative leaves a lot of loose ends that prevent us from connecting with the characters. The actors did their best with what was given, but I really wanted to know more about each character. There were also some shockingly cheesy elements - the intro and ending were completely superfluous, and just lame. The music score was corny and dated. The Boys in the Boat is worth watching once, but if you want the real story, read the book.

I don't like sport but I do love a good sport's movie after my Sunday roast.

This has everything you would expect, down-trodden beautiful people who need to strive to win a game of sports.

This has a very traditional feel about it with a fairly standard hero and romantic interest which, bizarrely, felt quite refreshing.

The boys row the boat and get knocked down but then do better to some rousing music.

There really is nothing new here but the people making this film realised it and ran with it.

It is great to watch a film that isn't trying to be something it is not.

The costumes and sets are amazing and you get a real (although sanitised) feel for the time.

The story focuses on a few characters meaning other members of the crew fade into the background - but the main characters have enough to them to carry this along.

There is nothing to get excited, upset or hot under the collar here - just a good honest story.

I miss movies like this.

My only criticism is it felt a little long - but then that is what Sunday afternoons are all about.