Here’s everything you need to know about the hit new biopic ‘The Boys in the Boat’.
Sports and biopics go hand-in-hand. Like cold ice cream on a warm day, they compliment the hell out of each other.
Epic tales of triumphing through adversity, of self-discovery, of the inner complexities of elite athletes, and of the endearing power sport holds in society.
I, Tonya, Raging Bull, Moneyball, The Blind Side, Ali, Remember the Titans; these are just a few of the countless remarkable sporting tales re-told through a cinematic lens, transforming otherwise little known tales into world-renowned feats of heroism.
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2023 added a few sports movies to the avid fan’s arsenal, including ‘Air’ starring Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, and Matt Damon, and chronicling the formative years of the ‘Air Jordan’ brand and Michael Jordan’s relationship with Nike.
We’ve been blessed with many over the years and in January a new tale is being told on the big screen, The Boys in The Boat. It’s a tale less known, but no less worthy of your attention.
So here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming film.
When is The Boys in the Boat being released?
January 4, 2024
The film is set to hit Australian cinemas on the fourth of January.
Is there a trailer?
Of course! Here it is:
What’s The Boys in the Boat plot?
Based on the 2013 book of the same name written by Daniel James Brown, the film follows the rise of the University of Washington team representing the United States in the men’s eight competition at the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi-ruled Berlin.
Sandwiched between the Great Depression and the onset of World War Two, the film operates within a complex socio-political environment, and highlights the everyday struggles of everyday Americans in what was ultimately an incredibly tumultuous period.
Any familiar faces in the film?
One of Australia’s favourite sons Joel Edgerton stars as Al Ulbrickson, the University’s rowing coach. Edgerton is noted for performances in The Great Gatsby, Warrior, and the Stars Wars franchise.
London-born actor, Callum Turner, portrays rower Joe Rantz, one of the film’s protagonists. Fans may know Turner from the Fantastic Beasts series, a semi-prequel to the widely loved Harry Potter series.
Off camera, the film is directed by Hollywood heartthrob, George Clooney. It is the ninth film in Clooney’s directorial arsenal, which includes 2014’s The Monuments Men, a group of individuals who, during World War Two, were tasked with rescuing artwork and other significant historical monuments before the Nazi’s could destroy them.
A unique challenge in The Boys in the Boat
While the premise of the film is simple – it is about boys in boats – filming this crucial element of the movie proved rather challenging.
According to an article from The Hollywood Reporter, the hardest facet of filming The Boys in the Boat was making Turner and his fellow stars look like they belonged in a rowing team and look as comfortable as world champions on water.
To the naked eye, rowing might seem a simplistic art with basic movements. But in order to accurately portray men of the class and calibre of the University of Washington team, there are undoubtedly minute nuances and specific standards that need to be hit.
Recalling a conversation he and Clooney shared early in production, producer George Heslov revealed “after the third week, George and I went to go watch them and they were terrible. And we were like, ‘Oh shit, we really screwed up.’”
For Turner’s perspective, no amount of faux optimism could hide the inner dread bubbling within Heslov and Clooney.
“George and Grant came down to watch us row and we were so excited, so proud, ‘let’s show them what we’ve got, show them what we’ve done.’ And we were awful, and I could see behind the smile and the thumbs up, the pain and fear in George’s soul.”
Eventually though the actors came around, achieving their goal of 46 strokes per minutes and equally the impressive feats of the team they were attempting to emulate, on the penultimate day of filming.
“We couldn’t believe it. We were shocked, no one spoke for hours.”
That’s not too say the road to achievement was easy. Such are the remarkable physical skills of the team, Turner noted how ‘the more we went forward with our training and evolution, the further it felt that we would reach it.’
His comments provide an incredible perspective on the success of the team, especially in an era where sports science and appropriate technology weren’t even conceived, let alone implemented and utilised.
For his part, Edgerton aptly compared rowing to ‘walking on a tightrope.’ It’s safe to say the stars of The Boys and the Boat earned their money, and a rest after filming too.
Any other 2024 sports biopics we need to know about?
Yes actually, in the middle of January the much anticipated film The Iron Claw hits Australian cinemas. You can find all the information on that one here.
