Everybody loves a good underdog story — especially when the events being portrayed actually happened — and Daniel James Brown’s 2013 nonfiction novel The Boys in the Boat has been lauded for its inspiring account of the University of Washington junior varsity rowing team’s unlikely rise to the 1936 Olympics. Now that story is being adapted for the big screen, and before it hits theaters on Christmas Day, critics had the opportunity to attend a screening. Let’s see what they have to say about upcoming sports drama.
At one time Kenneth Branagh was attached to an adaptation of the book, but audiences will see a different vision come December 25, as George Clooney serves as the director of The Boys in the Boat. The movie stars Callum Turner as rower Joe Rantz and Joel Edgerton as the university’s coach Al Ulbrickson. Sheri Linden of THR says the movie could have used more of an edge, but just like the titular crew, it gets the job done. The critic writes:
