There’s no denying that one of the complaints heard about today’s movies is that “they don’t make them like they used to.” Of course, this refers to thematic content, not technology.
Truth be told, not making them like they used to – old-fashioned so to speak – isn’t always a negative. However, for folks of a certain generation, weaned on the dream factory output of the Golden Age Of Hollywood (primarily the 1930s through the 1950s), there’s a collective unhappiness with today’s emphasis on sequels, prequels, comic book stories and outer space fantasies.
For legendary director Martin Scorsese, comic book movies continue to be Public Enemy No. 1. He’s not alone regarding the fight against the saturation of what he calls “theme park movies.” Scorsese’s very strong opinion is that “superhero-driven IP franchises” are dangerous to what was once a robust film culture. IP is what can only be described as an oxymoron for “intellectual property.”
In British “GQ” magazine in September, Scorsese created a whirlwind when he warned that “there are going to be generations now that think movies are only franchises – that’s what movies are. They already think that. Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it’s got to come from the grassroots level. It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves.”
On the bright side, Turner Classic Movies has provided younger film fans an extraordinary look at the exceptional movies that the major studios produced for decades. And many of them are watching the channel faithfully. However, the key question is this: Are they learning anything about how satisfying, creative and compelling motion pictures truly can be?
Sometimes the lament references a slightly shorter, but still vital, second Golden Age of filmmaking, which reflects hundreds of outstanding and interesting movies released in the late 1960s through the 1970s. From the French New Wave (Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Lelouch, to name just three directors) to the Italian masters (Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, for example), to the Americans (Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, William Friedkin, Stanley Kubrick, etc.), a revolution was created by directors and screenwriters who made motion pictures of lasting importance.
Actor George Clooney grew up in metro Cincinnati, Ohio in what now would most assuredly be called a media-savvy family. His father, Nick Clooney was a newspaper columnist, TV newsman, and local television talk show host. His aunt was the popular singer and movie star Rosemary Clooney. The elder Mr. Clooney even worked as an anchorman in Buffalo and wrote an insightful book titled: “The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections On The Screen.” I’ve interviewed George and talked to Nick in Buffalo and once on a flight to Los Angeles.
I’ve written that “my experience with the Clooney men bears out the fact that George has an instinctive understanding of the expressive nature of motion pictures; their ability, when done well, to tell engaging stories. He grew up surrounded by an historical sense of show business. For him, old-fashioned is not a negative. It’s something to be applauded and respected.”
Now playing in theaters, “The Boys in the Boat,” directed by George and written by Mark L. Smith, is as old-fashioned a movie as one could possibly be. It’s based on a 2013 non-fiction novel by Daniel James Brown titled, “The Boys In The Boat: Nine Americans And Their Epic Quest For Gold At The 1936 Berlin Olympics.”
The film is a good-looking, energetically paced retelling of a second bright moment at the Berlin Olympics, the first being American runner and long-jumper Jesse Owens’ celebrated success in track and field during an Olympics that was planned to show the world that 1930s Germany was a blueprint for what a society should look like.
Owens achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Games by winning four gold medals: for the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4 x 100-meter relay and the long jump. He was the most successful athlete in the Berlin Olympics and, as a black American man, he was acclaimed for destroying the jingoistic mythology about racial supremacy.
The boys in the boat were members of the American crew team. They weren’t Ivy Leaguers raised in the lap of luxury, but rather were average, up-from-the-bootstraps Depression Era college students rowing for University of Washington’s junior varsity crew. Newsreels shown in movie theaters and radio broadcasts heard in millions of American homes chronicled their strenuous and spirited path to the Olympics, with its hard-driving rowing coach (Joel Edgerton as Al Ulbrickson) and grueling workouts.
Although the movie is about teamwork, one of the young men is the true heart of the story. He’s Joe Rantz (well-played by Callum Turner), whose background bespeaks a life of utter poverty. He was literally abandoned by his father and stepmother and forced to lived in an unfinished house. From age 15, Rantz worked to support himself throughout high school and was admitted to the University of Washington.
Director Clooney and screenwriter Smith make interesting comparisons between the wealthier members of the Ivy League squads and the boys rowing for the U of W Huskies, who are mostly working-class lads who can earn scholarships for participating in sports. A radio announcer calls a regatta involving college competition a matter of “old money” versus “no money.” One telling series of images highlights the holes in the shoes worn by the Washington students.
The thrust of “The Boys In The Boat” is the build-up to the Olympics and its exciting rowing races. Rantz and the coach dominate the imagery, but other characters hold forth in vital scenes, including oarsman Don Hume and coxswain Bobby Moch. The actors Jack Mulhern and Luke Slattery, respectively, fare well with their time in the spotlight. Enthusiastic George Pocock (Peter Guinness), the designer of the racing shell, is the movie’s philosophical touchstone. Clooney knows exactly how to build suspense and has a knack for revealing the importance of togetherness and the vital need for athletic camaraderie.
“The Boys In The Boat” builds momentum with euphoric cinematography by Martin Ruhe, crisp editing from Tanya M. Swerling, an evocative music score by Alexandre Desplat, and excellent production values.
Clooney’s smart understanding of “old-fashioned” entertainment has helped create a satisfying, well-acted film. More movies like it are needed.