In 1936, a poor engineering student (Callum Turner) joins the rowing team at the University of Washington; coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) is aiming for the impossible, the Olympics in Berlin.

The lauded book depicted the realities of living during the Great Depression and what it was like to compete against Hitler’s Nazi ideal at the Olympics.

The film adaptation never really makes it look like something more profound than your run-of-the-mill underdog story, in spite of high production values, including an engaging music score. 

2023-U.S. 124 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by George Clooney. Screenplay: Mark L. Smith. Book: Daniel James Brown. Music: Alexandre Desplat. Cast: Joel Edgerton (Al Ulbrickson), Callum Turner (Joe Rantz), Peter Guinness (George Yeomans Pocock), Jack Mulhern, James Wolk, Hadley Robinson.  

Trivia: At one point, Kenneth Branagh was set to direct. Co-produced by Clooney.