Taking it's lead from the true story of the 1986 Oxford-Cambridge boat race, 'True Blue' is an attempt to convert this seemingly inconsequential event into a meaningful experience. The film fails because the relevance is only apparent to those with an interest in the subject, or those directly involved. Sure, there's an all encompassing metaphor for our ability to overcome obstacles in our path, and fight against the odds, but for that you would be better off with 'Rocky', or 'Chariots Of Fire' (which this film shamelessly rips off on more than one occasion). I don't doubt that all those involved were deeply passionate about the real story here, the people who made the victory so convincingly their own, but the film flounders due to some erratic performances, and some banal dialogue - not to mention an incredible anti-American streak throughout. It's a peculiarly English film, like the boat race itself, that will appeal to those with a vested interest and no-one else.

The real problem with this is that the full story--or whatever the book of "True Blue" purports to be--is already mind-bendingly complicated. There's no way this story was ever going to make it to film without being seriously mangled, and sadly, that's what happened. The script is plain awful, and the editing doesn't help.

Quite definitely the best film ever made about rowing (admittedly out of a poor field of competitors), 'True Blue' vividly conveys the striving for physical perfection and the stress of selection and training for the hardest rowing race in the word. The sheer bloody-mindedness, obstinacy and ambition needed to do well in such a sport spill over into the vicious personal relationships of this story, where the harsh sacrifices made mean that little quarter is given to those with whom you disagree and rival strongly opinionated tribes grow up, all with some right on their side. The bleak mood of the film is set straightaway with the picture of a lonely sculler training on a remote, snow-swept wind-blown loch. The film is visually poetic, using the real and truly beautiful venues used for the training in a matchless mix of colours and varying weather. Fairfax uses a good script, which nonetheless could have done with one more re-write to clarify the large cast of characters involved. The spectator comes away wondering also if some of the film's faults may not be due to back-pedaling over the real details of story to avoid legal action, which led to the changes of name of all but the two main characters. The soaring triumph of the spirit shown the final race in savage racing conditions is well worth waiting for, ably urged on by the sound track music. Some good cameo parts add to the overall pleasure of this film.

Based on the true story of an American at Oxford swearing to overcome defeat in the 1986 Boat Race (Oxford's first defeat to Cambridge in 11 years) by returning the following year with some international colleagues and the resultant "mutiny" when they refuse to follow the coach's training schedules.The film is a fictionalised account and comes down firmly (as did the book on which it is based) on the side of chief coach Dan Topolski and OUBC President Donald MacDonald. It's not a half bad attempt at telling a story with a good bash at both trying to underline the importance in the old universities of the boat race and the physical demands the race makes.The rowing is reasonably portrayed too, using real oarsmen as their opposition and with the actors having been taught to row by Topolski, but sometimes the continuity is lost and there are mistakes aplenty if you really try to go looking for them!It's not a film that challenges, but it does entertain - although how much it entertains a dry-bob is the big question!