IN THE DARK REVIEWS

As a Washington boy, there's no way I wasn't reviewing this week's premiere of "The Boys in the Boat," based on the 2013 book by Daniel James Brown, about the University of Washington rowing team that competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

I was joined during my screening by a fan of the book, retired English literature teacher Linda Boxleitner, my mom, who lives in Cape George, and my insights below borrow liberally from her own.

I tend to see films about sporting or athletic competitions as falling into one of three descending tiers of quality.

In 1981, "Chariots of Fire" transformed the very...