The true story behind George Clooney’s The Boys in the Boat

Due for release in early 2024, The Boys in the Boat marks the ninth directorial feature from actor George Clooney, with Joel Edgerton and Callum Turner as his leads.

Based on the book of the same name by author Daniel James Brown, it chronicles the lives of the eight men who took part in the University of Washington’s rowing team in 1936 that went on to compete in the Summer Olympics in Berlin.

That’s the elevator pitch – but what else do we know about the movie and is it based on a true story? Read on to find out.

When will The Boys in the Boat be released?

The Boys in the Boat will hit cinemas in the UK on Friday, 12 January 2024, with a streaming release date yet to be announced.

Is there a trailer for The Boys in the Boat?

“We rode for need…” The first trailer for Clooney’s The Boys in the Boat introduced us to a group of depression-era students who went on to defy the odds to become Olympic-qualifying athletes.

Full of hope, the film promises to deliver an underdog story that’ll have viewers cheering from their seats.

Watch the trailer below:

Is The Boys in the Boat based on a true story?

As mentioned above, Clooney’s latest is based on the non-fiction book of the same name which retells the story of a ragtag group of university students who became world-class Olympic rowers.

However, it’s also a tale of struggle. Taking place in 1936 when America was in the middle of the Great Depression, the author captures a period of history where jobs, money and hope were all in short supply and people’s self-worth was at an all-time low.

At its centre is Joe Rantz, a young man with a difficult family background who joined the University of Washington’s rowing team due to its financial benefits and its ability to help keep him in higher education.

His story shares similarly difficult comparisons to the other members of the University’s rowing team, all of whom faced struggles and financial hardship during this lean period of American history.

While each student faced their own individual troubles, when they worked together inside a rowing boat, they each found a purpose and a way to combine specific skill sets to help them all emerge as champions.

As the team got more adept at rowing, they soon turned their attention to the 1936 Summer Olympics which was being held in Berlin during the height of Nazi power in Germany.

Overseen by Hitler, the Nazis aimed to use this sporting showcase as a way to hide the atrocities they were committing against Jewish people by building grand venues and sporting arenas as a distraction.

It was a form of propaganda that ultimately managed to pull the wool over the eyes of both the United States Olympic Committee and the wider world.

While The Boys in the Boat tells a ground-level story of real American hardship, it’s also set against the backdrop of a world at war, with both narratives meeting in the middle when Rantz’s team competes and ultimately wins gold at the Summer Olympics.

Entering as underdogs but emerging as Olympians, Rantz and his fellow rowers had a short spell of fame in America before ultimately drifting into obscurity during their later years.

Despite this, their Olympic rowing experience forever changed their lives and helped them survive a dark economic period – and the team continued to meet up and row long after their problems were overcome.

The Boys in the Boat will be released on Friday, 12 January 2024.