Living in Washington State and having once done rowing for a summer, it was practically a mandate that I catch The Boys in the Boat during its time in theaters over winter break. The film, based on a nonfiction book by the same name, tells the story of the University of Washington men’s rowing team that won gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. With sports, an underdog victory against staggering odds, and a rhetorical middle finger to the Nazis right before World War II all in the offering, it’s somewhat surprising this book wasn’t adapted into a big-screen crowd pleaser any sooner.
I’d read the book once before but had forgotten most of the details, and after seeing the film in theaters I was inspired to reread it. Reflecting on the film after the reread was an interesting experience. When comparing a film adaptation with its source material, one typically finds that the film has exaggerated story elements so as to better milk the drama, often to the point of losing realism. A viewer unfamiliar with the story might suspect that The Boys in the Boat has done this. Of course the hero, Joe Rantz, was essentially abandoned by his father and is living in extreme poverty before he’s selected for the men’s rowing team. Of course the team is talented beyond anyone’s predictions, and just in time for an Olympic year, too. Of course one of the rowers falls ill upon his arrival in Berlin and pushes on through the final race anyway. And of course, thanks to unethical behavior by officials, the US rowing team is wrongly given the worst lane in the final race, improperly cued to start rowing, and still manages to win anyway. It seems so contrived that the viewer is inclined to skepticism… but all of these things really happened. In fact, far from exaggerating the truth, the film at times actually downplays what’s described in the book. Though Joe mentions that his father left him to fend for himself, the film does not hint at how extreme his situation really was, foraging in the woods for food at the age of fifteen after his family literally packed their car and drove to another town without him; and his search for a job in the film is tame compared to the exhausting and dangerous work men had to take up to earn a wage during the Great Depression.
Rereading the book, it’s disappointing that the film didn’t include these elements. They’re an interesting part of the story and they would have added more specificity to what risks being a generic sports film. (As an example, the relationship between Joe and his future wife — in the book, a tender and idiosyncratic relationship between two individuals united by their equally fraught childhoods — is sadly reduced to some stock romantic comedy interactions.) Fortunately, it’s a sports film that knows how to film sports well. All of the race scenes, which are really the movie’s raison d’être anyway, are thrillingly shot, helped by an excellent soundtrack. The director wisely cuts between the rowers and the onlookers/coaches, preventing the scenes from becoming exhausting or confusing while also thematically highlighting the importance of a team’s leadership. Audience members leaving the theater will likely be invigorated, high on adrenaline, and newly appreciative of the joys of physical fitness — provided they’re not busy nitpicking details the film left out.
Is The Boys in the Boat another adaptation that only draws criticism from book purists and is most enjoyable if one forgets the source material, then? No, I can’t say that. True, being familiar with the book will make the film’s omissions more bothersome. However, I think the film would suffer more if one isn’t familiar with the book at all. Those apparently contrived plot elements I described earlier would be positively groan-worthy if one didn’t know that they came from history. A lot of the film’s inspirational value stems from its historicity. Without the record to support it, it would be just another sports movie about people overcoming problems that have been cooked up for the purpose of being taken down.
Perhaps The Boys in the Boat was simply taking on an impossible task. Even with tight editing, the film needs to be two hours long just to show all of the team’s pivotal races. Including the historical details it omitted would have meant cutting a race or two, and I don’t think that would have necessarily been the right choice. There are some who would argue that the problem lies in the medium, and The Boys in the Boat would have been better as a multi-episode miniseries. With languorously stretched adaptations becoming increasingly common on streaming services, though, and so many theatrical releases pushing well over two hours these days, I have a hard time faulting a film for keeping things short. And after everything, I still like The Boys in the Boat. As I mentioned, I left the theater inspired enough to want to reread the book. Perhaps it would have been nice to see its sights set a little higher, but that’s no mark against what the film does accomplish.
Ultimately, The Boys in the Boat succeeds in what it sets out to do. It’s a fun, easy sports film with good racing eye-candy, granted some extra gravitas by its origin in reality. Fans of the book may not feel that film captures its source material’s atmosphere and will miss the complexity afforded by a book’s long form. Yet the film we have is inoffensive and could be a good accompaniment to the book if one already knows the story. Perhaps the fact that I find it an imperfect adaptation is only a sign of how good other book-to-film adaptations have been.
Overall grade: B+.