Heart of Champions (2021) Movie Script

Bow.

Nudge it. Go bow. Lightly.

Sit ready.

Blades covered. Bury 'em.

Gentlemen,

you know the commands.

Ready all? Row!

Draw!

Through! Shunt!

Spin! Shunt! Finish!

Length! One. Two.

Build! Build!

And push! Now.

One! Send!

Two! Send!

Three! Send!

Four! Send!

Five.

Breath! Six!

Breath! Seven!

Breath! Eight!

Send! Push,

send! Nice!

Keep moving.

That's it boys.

Now they're going

for a race to the 500.

We're at 37. Stay relaxed.

Find our rhythm.

Ten bend.

In the fingers.

That's it,

keep it together, boys!

We got two

seats up on Harvard.

Give me another one!

Now we swing the

weight into the headwind.

Ready?

Swing back.

Sit back! Sit back!

Swing back. There!

We're up three

quarters of a length.

Hold tough.

There. Sit back.

Sit back. Keep this lead,

boys.

Keep this lead.

We're still three seats up.

Up four.

Too soon.

Up four,

now!

Okay boys, we're taking it

up. That's one. That's two. Go!

Push! Send!

They got two seats on us.

In two, 10 to break 'em. Ready?

One. Yes! Two,

go!

They're

making a move! Let's respond!

Power! More! Legs!

Legs! Hold

tough! Hold tough!

Take it all the

way to the line boys...

Yeah! Yeah!

Shoulders and go.

Rolling

down to slings. Go!

You sorry

piece of shit quitters.

Logan! Sanchez! This is on you!

You don't belong on varsity!

De-rig the boat!

Settle down,

Alex.

Next time I say take it up,

you take it up. No back talk.

Taking it up that early wasn't

part of the race plan, was it?

I made the call.

It's your job to follow me,

John.

Exactly,

you made the call.

What are you trying to say,

John? It's my fault we lost?

Alex!

That was a

goddamn embarrassment.

You think you can

finish the season like that

and still make

the Olympic team?

Tryouts are a

year away, Dad.

Let me tell you something.

The Olympic coaches

are already watching you.

I'll win it next year.

One two!

Harvard! We are gods!

We are rowing gods! Wooo!

Harvard dirtbags.

They're the national champs,

again.

All

right, hand them over pussies.

Yeah. Let's go. Wooo!

Easy.

I

knew they were going to break.

we got a new coach.

Had a

new coach last year.

This

year will be different.

No it won't! Alex'll

pull the same bullshit again.

Who are you?

You must be the transfer,

Chris, right?

Yeah.

Hey, man, I'm John.

Welcome. I'm your roommate, so.

This is a private conversation.

He needs to leave.

Chill, Ted, all right.

He's part of the team.

Don't remember seeing

him in the boat last season.

Why are you

being such an ass?

It's okay.

I'll just wait outside.

Sorry,

dude.

Sure

you don't need help?

I got it.

Oh.

I got it. Got it.

This your girlfriend?

Not anymore.

Your room is the

second one on the right.

I'll be back

in like an hour.

First practice tomorrow.

Assuming we still have a team.

I don't know how to row.

So please teach me all you know.

I don't know, how to row.

So please teach me all you know.

Jayvee crew,

go see Charlie.

Move out,

giddy up. Yee ha! Okay.

Logan Sanchez,

you're Jayvee.

- What?

- Why?

Jayvee! Go see Charlie.

Come on,

Alex.

Move out fresh meat.

Easy Alex, this is

Chris. He's the new transfer.

Yo,

John.

You all are late.

I knew I got

through to you guys.

You're late for practice.

Knock out a hundred.

We're not late.

You're early.

Get on your face and push.

Oh, not the finger,

Ted.

Keep that up

and I'll break it off.

- Yeah, go ahead.

- Oh hey, hey, hey!

How about I do the

push ups. How about that?

Varsity! Line

up on the deck.

Hurry up!

I'm your new coach.

You will address

me as Coach Murphy.

Can someone

explain to me why you're here?

Uh,

we're a rowing team

and you asked us to

come meet you here, so.

That's not what I'm asking.

I want to know why you're here.

What's your name?

Alex Singleton.

Captain of the crew.

All right, Captain,

tell me why you're here.

We're here to practice.

Here is our lineup.

Uh,

and the workout schedule.

We're going to

get on the water now.

You're not

ready for the water.

Sit your ass down,

Singleton.

All of you,

sit.

Pass these around,

all right?

Here's some pencils.

I want you all to write down

why you, personally, are here.

Start with the words,

"I am here to..."

and then

figure out the rest.

It's not a dissertation,

hurry up.

Who wants to read theirs?

You. Stand up.

Introduce yourself.

Uh,

Ted Taylor.

Give me your card.

I am here to meet the new

coach. Nice to meet you, Taylor.

Now tell me why

you're really here.

To steer the boat.

You can steer

boats in a bathtub.

That's not why

you're here. Sit.

Pass your cards,

up.

What's your name?

Chris Davenport.

Come to my

office afterwards.

No.

Uh-Uh. Nope.

No! No! Unbelievable.

Not one of you

knows why you're here.

Let's try a

different approach.

Look around.

What is this place?

You, Mohawk,

don't say hair salon.

It's a boathouse.

Think bigger picture

and the bigger picture is...?

Belston University.

I'm John Kimball.

So, now tell me, Kimball,

why are you at this university?

To learn.

- To learn about what?

- Rowing.

You already know how

to row. At least I hope so.

All right,

let me end the suspense.

No man is an island.

Whatever you

do after graduation,

you have to find your

way with the people around you.

They need to rely on you

and you need to rely on them.

Because the time may

come when your success,

your happiness, maybe even

your flesh and blood survival

will be at stake.

And you won't

make it on your own.

So, yes, Kimball,

you are here to learn.

You are going to learn something

that can't be taught in a book

or a classroom.

Out on that river, men,

you will learn how to be a team.

Not an island.

We already are a team.

Not true.

A team doesn't disintegrate

in the last 500 meters

against Harvard and then

point fingers at who to blame.

Yeah,

I saw that race.

Don't forget

what I just told you.

You are here to learn one of the

most important lessons in life.

How to work together

to achieve the impossible...

as a team.

Have a seat,

Davenport.

I'm not much older

than you in that photo.

My father was in the army.

He never talked about it much.

For a long time,

I was the same way.

Have a seat.

So I saw you row

stroke in the Wisconsin boat

a couple of years back.

You guys were fast.

I guess.

Then I couldn't find your name

on the roster from last year,

so I called the coach.

He told me the story.

Don't want

to talk about it.

Fair enough.

You wrote,

I'm here because I have to be.

What does that mean?

I got a rowing scholarship.

I need to row for my tuition.

Otherwise,

you'd quit the team?

- Yeah.

- Why?

Because I

fucking hate rowing.

So you're just going to

go through the motions?

Just put me

on junior varsity.

Going through the motions

will be good enough there.

And then the lesson you learn

is how to waste your talent,

drift along and take

the easy way out. Right?

I'm keeping

you on varsity.

Don't you even

think about slacking off.

I have no problem

revoking your scholarship.

Sarah, okay. Honestly,

these are fantastic.

They have such

great composition.

Hey,

Nish.

Hi,

how are you?

Good. This

was in the mail room.

Thank you. Finally.

What is it?

Um,

it is the Rhodes application.

So,

you're really going for it?

Um-hmm.

There's Alex.

- Oh god.

- Oh my god.

Sara.

I missed you too.

Hi Nish.

Hi Lili. How was your summer?

Hi Nish. Hi,

Lili. How was your summer?

Glad to be back.

Yeah,

me too.

- Should we go?

- Yes.

Since we're no longer wanted

here. Should we go register?

because there's this

wonderful Shakespeare seminar,

I really want to

introduce you to.

Tomorrow and tomorrow,

and tomorrow, creeps in this...

Oh sorry.

I'm sorry.

Sorry.

Hey,

Chris. Hey.

Let me take him to

the boathouse, all right.

Okay.

- See you tonight.

Come on.

Hey,

there he is.

Jack,

meet Travis Murphy.

Class of 67 and our

new varsity crew Coach.

Travis,

President Harris.

Great to have

you back on campus.

You know well as anyone

what rowing means to Belston.

Our big donors and

alums expect great things.

I can promise

we'll work hard.

Well, anything you need,

the door's open.

Feels like 100 years ago,

doesn't it?

We had a good boat.

Yeah,

we did.

How's it feel to

be back on campus?

Still some ghosts here.

Yeah, well,

I see him too, sometimes.

Do you?

Travis, I'm glad I

got you to take this job.

But let's try and focus on

the future instead of the past.

Just to be clear, it wasn't

you who got me to take this job.

Okay.

Pete Davenport's boy,

I stand corrected.

One more thing,

Alex is gunning for a seat

in the Olympic boat next year.

So that's

why you hired me.

You're a hell of a coach,

Murph.

I know you

can get him there.

If he gets a

little extra attention.

Everybody in the boat

gets my complete attention.

We're glad to

have you here.

Welcome aboard.

Who's the

leader of this crew?

I'm the captain.

I asked,

who's the leader?

Me.

You got something to say,

John?

All right. Singleton,

you run a practice.

Looks like our war

hero has already folded.

All right,

let's go.

20 minute piece.

Newbie you're in five.

The rest of you

all know the lineup.

Hold up a minute.

What's that for?

Well,

if I see black tape,

that means

you're moving pretty well.

What if you

see the purple?

Oh, I doubt I'll

ever see the purple.

Yeah,

but what if you do?

Son, if I see the purple tape,

this boat sprouted wings.

Sloppy.

Going off

your stroke rate.

Sloppy.

Time's up! Weigh

enough! And balance!

Down.

God weak.

Since you guys can't balance,

we're doing another one.

Turn it around.

Hey, what are we

trying to accomplish?

Another one,

John.

That's what we're

trying to accomplish.

Quiet in the boat.

Wait here.

What the hell is he doing?

Five minute piece.

Try and catch me.

Who's he kidding?

He can't

beat us in a single.

Who cares,

let's crush him.

Ready all!

Row!

Drive.

Two lengths down.

Time's up. Weigh enough.

And down.

Take it in.

Someone want to tell me what

went wrong at practice today?

We started off okay.

No you didn't.

You started like shit

and you finished like

a big steaming pile of shit.

You couldn't catch an old

man in a single. Wearing khakis!

What are you

snickering about?

I should make all

you surrender your shirts

for losing like that.

So,

you're the leader of this team?

Yeah.

Why?

Because I got the

top rowing machine score?

Rowing machines

measure endurance son.

Not leadership.

Leadership is measured in

the hearts of those who follow.

Nobody was following you.

Carter, can you tell me what

the purpose of this team is?

Uh.

It's like you said yesterday,

to learn how to work as a team.

No. Listen to yourself,

buddy.

The purpose of this team is

to learn how to work as a team.

That makes no sense.

Each of you

individually is here to learn,

but the team

itself needs a purpose.

Singleton,

did you give 'em one?

Yeah,

one 20 minute piece.

That's a task,

not a purpose.

We've got a purpose.

Get used by Alex

as a stepping stone

so he can make

the Olympic squad.

You gonna hold up

that big bad finger, Ted?

Quiet! I want

somebody tell me right now.

What is the

purpose of this team?

It's goal,

it's mission.

To win the

national championship.

We have to beat Harvard.

That's never

going to happen.

Kimball, you grab that broken

oar, the rest of you follow me.

Kimball,

break the glass.

Unless one of

you has the key.

Go on. Break the glass.

Oh!

Nice.

Pass 'em around.

Let's put

them on the wall.

So,

there are nine of you.

Nine Harvard

shirts on this wall.

As we move

through the season,

the team will choose

the man most deserving

to step up

and take a shirt.

What is the

mission of this crew, again?

To beat Harvard,

sir.

Every single one of

you needs to commit to this.

Raise your hand if you do.

Don't blindly

throw your arm up

like you're

saluting some dictator.

I want you to

think it over. Decide.

Is this an honorable goal?

Decide if this is worth

your sweat, blood and tears.

What the hell

are you doing man?

I'm studying.

Put that book away.

It's Saturday night.

You're making everybody

else look bad by staying in.

Now let's go out with the

team and have some team bonding.

Come on,

let's go.

John. No thanks.

What? Mommy and

Daddy ground you man? Come on.

My Mom and Dad

died in a car accident.

Wait really?

Yeah,

really.

Dude, I'm... I'm so sorry,

man, I didn't-I didn't.

Forget about it.

Just let me study.

I'm studying.

I gotta apologize,

man, because I had no idea.

Foot in my mouth,

dude.

Hey, let's just go

out with the team, man.

Let's have some fun.

- John.

- Yeah?

I am not

leaving this chair.

Okay.

Here.

Another.

You drag me

out for team bonding

and you won't have a beer?

No.

Why?

I quit drinking.

Why?

You know what it

feels like to get stabbed?

No.

Yeah,

neither do I. But I should.

Damn. What happened?

I wish I could tell

you. I don't remember.

Well, that's okay,

I'll drink for the two of us.

You ought to slow down.

I can handle it.

I got nobody to lose.

Hey.

Chris,

that's Nisha. We call her Nish.

This is Lili.

And you remember Sara.

Do I know you?

Oh,

sorry. Okay.

Holy shit. What's that?

That right

there is the old loch. Yeah.

Connects the

two rivers. Let's go.

We got an old tradition.

Before every season,

the whole team sneaks up here

and we throw our old

racing shirts into the water

to appease the river gods.

Is there problem here?

Hey. Sorry, sir, no problem.

We're just taking a look.

Come on.

Chris man,

how you doing? How's your head?

I'm never going out again.

Was that your plan?

To get blasted

and act like an idiot,

so we never

drag you out again?

No.

You were also pretty

rude to Nish last night.

Who's Nish?

She's just like

my best friend, so.

Oh. Sorry.

It's not us you

need to apologize to.

Are you stalking me?

How dare you come here?

This is my

apology. I'm sorry.

I'm... I'm calling security,

because honestly,

after the other night.

Please use my phone.

Or what? Pig with a phone?

Alcoholic dumb

jock misogynist pig.

You left out

"villain of the earth."

I'm sorry,

what?

Villain of the earth.

You left that out.

Can you please just leave?

Let's go out and have fun.

I can't. I'm knee deep

in Rhodes application stuff.

Wish I could.

Okay.

Oh,

what's this? What is this?

Hmm,

it's from that pig at the bar.

John says he's a nice guy.

Not a chance.

Eno,

4.6 30-40?

Dumb jock is mocking me,

testing my Shakespeare.

Can I see?

Start on line 30,

"I am alone,

the villain of the earth."

Read all the

way to the bottom.

Don't think

he's mocking you.

No,

he's not.

What was his name again?

Stand between the rope.

Slip a loop over each ankle.

It's about a five mile

run to the chapel and back.

Begin.

Begin!

Start running! Three,

two, one, go!

What's the matter,

Davenport?

All right. How about

we walk first, then run?

Let's do right foot on three,

ready?

One, two,

three.

Left foot. One,

two, three.

One, two,

three.

Left, right, left, right, left,

right, left, right, left, right,

left, right, left,

right, left, right, left, right.

Left, right, left, right, left,

right, left, right, left, right,

left, right, left,

right.

So,

what we learn?

Total concentration.

Exactly. You bring that

level of concentration with you

back on the water.

It's bullshit.

Davenport?

You don't look too happy.

Say what's on

your mind, son.

I could've got a

better workout running alone.

You think so?

Yeah.

That way, nobody drags

me down and I go where I want.

Let's get on the water.

All right,

Taylor, stop here.

Everyone except Davenport

get out and swim to shore.

What?

Let me rephrase that,

everyone except Davenport

get out and swim to shore.

Jake,

how about you start it off?

In you go. In you go.

All right, Jake,

you got it, buddy. Coach?

Come on,

buddy.

- Good luck, buddy.

- Gotta man up.

- Right behind ya.

- Balance the boat.

Come on.

Lean away.

Come on,

Jake.

There you go.

There you go. That's it.

All right everybody else.

Out of the boat. Come on.

I don't see the point in this,

Coach.

Ben,

I can still see ya.

Come on Taylor.

Oh.

Okay, Davenport,

row the boat back to shore.

How?

That's your

problem. Row it back. Hurry up.

I thought you said you

could move faster alone.

This is different.

You're damn right it

is. A lot more like real life.

Okay, lesson over. Get

out there and help, Davenport.

- What?

- Ah, shit!

And down.

One minute rest,

then keep going.

2,000 meter race, gentlemen,

only lasts six minutes,

but rowing packs more

pain into those six minutes

than most other

sports do in a year.

Need to

constantly train body and mind

to prepare for the ordeal.

And balance and down.

I've never been this

far down river before.

Nobody has.

One minute

rest then keep going.

One minute

rest then keep going.

One minute

rest then keep going.

I know your

hands are raw meat.

Lungs are burning and

you all hate me right now.

Weigh

enough. And balance.

Come on,

balance the boat.

And down.

Okay, Taylor,

turn them around.

It's 15 miles

back to the dock.

Should take an

hour and 20 minutes.

We're all gonna die.

We're gonna make it.

Quit stalling,

Taylor.

Ready all? Row.

You may be suffering,

but you're suffering together.

And together you

achieve something

that should not

even be possible.

That is the

miracle of a crew.

That's it Taylor.

Finish with pride!

Weigh

enough and balance.

Hold it.

Outstanding! And down.

Men,

congratulations.

I thought it'd be

more than you could handle,

but you showed impressive

endurance and discipline.

Kimball.

Good motivation at the end.

Hey you free tonight?

No,

I really got to work on this.

How about you come out with

me and Sarah and Nish, instead.

I know about the flowers.

It wasn't

exactly accepted.

Yeah, well, nothing is exactly

anything with Nish, okay?

Come on, we'll go

down by the river. It'll be fun.

I'm sure she hates me.

I really got to

focus on this, man.

What are you doing?

Oh, there's some fire

in there. There's the anger,

you want to get

it out with fisticuffs?

Who the hell

says fisticuffs?

Come on.

Are you two

going to say anything?

Okay, Chris here can

recite some Shakespeare for us,

since he

seems to know so well.

There's a good idea.

Nish,

aren't you a little cold?

What a guy.

Thank you.

Chris, some advice,

don't hand a girl your jacket,

cuddle up next to

her to keep her warm.

Oh,

yeah.

Okay,

I'm going to change the subject.

Isn't it boring just rowing up

and down that river every day?

Boring?

Same thing every day.

No, no. When we're all

rowing well, when we have swing,

I could literally

stay out there forever.

What's swing?

It's pretty much

what rowing is all about.

No other sport

has anything like it.

Is it something you see?

No,

it's something you feel, okay?

Everyone in

the boat feels it.

I know it's kind of

hard. It's hard to explain.

Swings an excuse.

What?

You hear it when

someone screws up or slacks off

- and the boat is slow.

- No.

Trying to blame someone else

for what's really his own fault.

All right,

look, Nisha.

Swing is when the whole team

is rowing in perfect sync, okay?

You can literally feel it.

Everyone's connected to

the motion and to the moment.

Okay, the boat is

as light as a feather.

It's just gliding

across the water.

It's, um,

it's like the wind on the river.

Um, Chris still looks skeptical,

so I don't know guys.

I don't buy

the ghost in the boat stuff.

It's just eight guys rowing,

all mechanical, nothing more.

What you got

going on here?

He's racing Arnold.

Who is Arnold?

Arnold is

our computer pacesetter.

Woohoo!

Color me impressed,

Singleton.

Glad you saw it.

Yeah, I'm sure you

are. More witnesses, right?

- That's right.

- Congrats.

What are you doing?

I broke it. Alex won't

let me leave till I fix it.

Let me give it

a shot. Thanks.

Hey newbie,

what the hell you doing?

Sanchez is

supposed to fix that.

Looks like Chris just did.

So

we can leave now?

Test it out first

then you can leave.

I'll test it.

Set it for

something quick.

Two hundred meters.

Twenty-nine

seconds. Wearing corduroys.

You've been

hiding skills from us, Chris.

That's fast enough to

even make Alex nervous.

Two hundred meters,

try 2,000 then we can talk.

It's fixed.

Come on,

let's go.

Yeah,

let's go. Hey congrats, man.

- Yeah, you too.

- Really, really impressive.

Thanks,

thanks.

They're re-rigging the boat.

Are you changing the lineup?

Yeah, Kimball is stroke today,

you're in seven.

Why are you switching me?

I want to see how the boat

moves with Kimball in stroke.

At the end of practice,

we're going to try

this new drill

he came up with.

He'll lead it.

You sneaky piece of shit.

Hey! You

knock that shit off.

You want to fight somebody,

you can fight me.

I guarantee

you'll regret it.

He invented some bullshit drill

to get me demoted to seven.

Not true.

I told him I was

making the change yesterday.

He

suggested the drill today.

Kimball, in fact,

asked me not to switch you.

Now, Kimball,

this is your chance

to see if you

can do any better.

Yes,

sir.

And Singleton,

I expect you to work

just as hard in

seven as Kimball did for you.

A team player

gives 100 percent

no matter where he sits.

You man enough to do that?

- Do I have your word?

- Yes.

Let's get on the water.

Looking good guys. Go.

Time.

Weigh enough.

Hey, we're consistently

faster with you in stroke.

Okay, Kimball,

you're up.

All right, listen up.

We're gonna do something

a little differently.

We're gonna

row with blindfolds.

Blindfolds?

Yup. It's a little swing drill,

I invented.

You got that

Chris? Swing drill.

This is

gonna be a disaster.

Stop pouting,

Alex.

Shut up.

Hey,

watch your mouth.

Quiet in the boat!

Young lady.

Sorry,

Coach.

You guys

got the blindfolds on?

No,

hang on.

Just a simple knot,

Diver.

I'm good.

All right,

ready all. Row.

Weigh enough.

Who caught the crab?

Chris.

So much for

your idiotic drill.

Singleton, remember

your promise. Try again.

Ready all.

Come on guys.

Row!

- Lance! That's twice!

- Weigh enough.

Dude,

I can't see.

No shit.

Guys. You gotta focus.

What's the point?

We don't race blindfolded.

All right, look,

guys.

All right,

if we practice blindfolded,

think how much better

we'll race when we can see.

Now don't be so self-absorbed,

visualize us moving together.

We'll move as a crew if

you let yourself feel the swing.

All eight,

sit ready.

All right,

deep breaths, guys,

Deep breaths.

- And Row.

- Nice and easy.

Feel that swing.

There we go.

That's it.

Full pressure.

All right, crank it up,

guys. Full pressure on this one.

That's it,

wohoohoohoo!

Yeah!

Yes!

Hey we had some

good swing there for a minute.

I know you felt that.

Yeah,

maybe next time.

Yeah,

maybe next time.

Alex.

Hey, I appreciate

that extra effort today.

Enjoy it while it lasts cause

I'm gonna get my seat back.

Yeah,

you gonna go cry to daddy?

He'll find out

one way or another.

Coach Murphy

is doing a good job.

It'll slow the boat down

if he mysteriously "resigns."

Not my call.

Team chooses John.

If it's all right with you,

I'd like to go last.

Sure, John,

who would you like to nominate?

I'm thinking Ted Taylor.

All right,

Ted, grab a shirt.

Hey good one.

Nice one. Go!

Tan-da-da-dan-dan-da!

Nice.

I saw you on the water today.

What are you doing in seven?

Coach swapped me and John.

Is he going to

switch you back?

I don't know.

This is unacceptable.

The Olympic coaches

need to see you in stroke.

What do you want me to do?

Nothing,

I'll handle it.

Hey.

Okay,

instead of sneaking glances,

should we just do like a

staring contest or something?

Okay.

Three, two,

one.

Oh,

you blinked.

Okay,

let's do it again.

Okay.

- Ready now?

- Umm-hmm.

Okay. One. Two. Three.

You blinked,

then I blinked.

Fine,

let's go again.

- Okay.

- The trick is to...

- Let's do it again.

- Okay.

- Let's try again.

I'll count down.

Three, two,

one.

Hey, bro,

it's snowing, it's snowing.

Hey, everybody,

come on, it's snowing. Let's go.

What's going on?

It's a school tradition.

Is that the guy

that never left college?

Should we go see?

School tradition on

first snowfall of the year.

But there's only

like five snowflakes.

It literally

takes only one

and they're out here

for the nude Olympics.

- Look at them.

- Woooo!

MJ! What are you doing?

Participating,

brother.

Go on,

have a sip.

Oh,

okay. What is this? Brandy.

Yeah,

drink yourself a jacket.

- Ugh.

- Yeah.

That'll keep you warm.

Keep you warm.

All right well,

good luck, lovers.

Cheerio!

Am I the only naked one

in this whole bloody Olympics?

Wait, are you

actually getting undressed?

Seems like fun!

But it's cold.

Isn't

that the point?

Yeah...

Come on.

Oh my god! It's freezing!

Oh. Oh. Oh my God.

You're shivering.

It's freezing.

- It was your idea.

- Was it?

- Yeah, it was your idea.

- Hmm.

Serious chat for a minute?

You should

know that there's really

no long future here because

I'll graduate in the spring.

I know.

Yeah and then I

leave the country.

Rhodes scholarship,

I know.

I plan to go home

because this was really

just like

study abroad for me.

Nish,

we spent one night together.

I know,

yeah no, for sure. It's just...

Hey Ni... Wow,

okay. That's great.

Hi,

Chris. Nice to see you guys.

Yeah. Cool.

Locking up for the winter?

Yeah.

I wanted to talk

before the holidays.

About the lineup?

Look, I realize

season isn't until spring,

so there's a temptation

to play with the lineup.

However,

I can assure you...

Kimball will

stay in stroke.

Your son

will stay in seven.

Alex is the

best you've got.

Your son's a good oarsman,

but the boat's faster

with Kimball in stroke.

Come on,

Travis.

Look, even if you're right,

the boat's going to be what?

One,

two seconds faster,

only to crush Alex's

chances for the Olympics.

This isn't about

Alex. It's about the team.

I'm not going to let you

sacrifice my son's future.

Yeah, I'm well aware

of your views on sacrifice.

Oh,

there it is.

That same self-righteousness

you had in college.

Only, you always

seem to forget that your ideas

about sacrifice

can hurt other people.

I don't forget.

I remember every single day.

All you had to do

was sign that paper.

Defer the draft.

Becker. Marino.

They only

enlisted because you did.

Each of those men did

what they thought was right.

No, they did what

you thought was right.

Yeah, of course,

you still believe that,

you can't comprehend putting

anything ahead of yourself.

Yeah? Well,

it's too bad

you didn't all

make it back home.

I wish we could

ask our dead friends

which one of us is right.

Now,

I'm done arguing with you

when the team is

back on the water in spring,

you put Alex

back in stroke.

If you don't,

I'll find a coach who will.

You came back early.

Well,

I told you I'd send a postcard.

Plus if something

happened to you during Y2K

I would

never forgive myself.

Wow.

It's really good.

Okay,

so for the Rhodes essay,

really good is more

of a floor than a ceiling,

but I'll take it.

No,

I mean it.

I think they say that in

the rejection letter actually,

we regret to inform that

your application is really good.

Try harder next year.

Most guys would

say that was perfect,

just so they could start

round two with me sooner, so...

Nish...

It's perfect.

You're so stupid.

No,

I'm serious.

I think we're going to

ring in the new millennium

from your bed.

It's much more fun to

spend New Year's with you here,

rather than boring ol'

mum and dad in London.

I'm sorry.

- It's fine.

- I shouldn't have said that.

Tell me about

your mom and dad.

My mum and dad?

Yes,

your mum and dad.

Your accent is rubbish!

No,

my accent is bloody brilliant.

- It's not, it's rubbish.

- I sound exactly like you.

You do not sound like me.

- Will you stop?

- Mine was better than yours.

Oh,

yes.

Could I actually

just keep this one?

- Are you falling for him?

- No.

You're falling for him.

No, I'm not at all.

It's a good picture.

Oh,

hello.

Who's that? Oh...

It looks like we are

going to have a class together.

You don't

need to sit down.

You can

actually just leave.

This isn't an

ancient history seminar.

I don't know if

you got confused.

Oh,

burn.

It's a free country.

I can take a

class if I want to.

You can take a class,

but you can't take a hint?

Leave her alone. You've

really become a persistent pest.

Wow. Nisha.

Don't be such a royal bitch,

maybe?

Okay.

Alex.

Hey,

Alex.

I haven't said anything

because Sara asked me not to,

but now I'm asking politely,

leave her alone.

She's with me.

Yeah,

after you slid in there

and stole her like

the loyal friend you are.

She's with me.

And you're going to back off,

you got that?

You gonna lose your cool,

John? Huh?

- Leave her alone...

- Get out of my face.

Coach,

why aren't you stopping them?

Why aren't you?

Get 'em off!

Solve your problems?

Yeah,

just dandy.

What was that?

Nothing.

2,000 meters, both of

you. Better use of your energy.

Go on!

I'm gonna

blow your doors off.

Row!

Gotta make

your move now, John.

Come on,

John. You got this.

Gotta make

your move now, John.

Make your move

now! There you go.

You've got

this. Bring it home.

There you go.

Time!

Good job,

bro.

That's what

I'm talking about.

Same lineup we left off with.

Start off with

2,000 meter piece...

Let's try to keep the

stroke rate at 30, all right?

All right,

push off.

All right,

hands on.

Murphy is

failing to prepare them.

I'm trying to save

the rowing program.

Season

hasn't even started.

But I can assure you,

this is the right move.

Mike, there was

grumbling from the alumni

about what

you did last year.

If I let you do it again,

before the season even starts

there'll be a

lot of questions.

Questions about you,

not the new coach.

Let him finish the season.

Look, you ease up at practice,

just a hair slower.

First thing Murphy will

try is to switch you back.

You want me to

slow the boat down?

How about kissing the

Olympics goodbye, huh?

Or betting

your entire future on

some crappy

college transcript.

Does that feel better?

No,

I just...

Son, you could be the

best oarsman in the country

and the only way

anybody's going to see that is

if you get your

damn seat back.

I promised the

team I'd give them 100%.

Oh yeah?

Well this is your shot.

Okay? It's not theirs.

And you have to take it.

No one else is going to

make this happen for you.

Not the team.

Certainly not Murphy.

You understand?

Yeah.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Good. You'll

thank me for this.

Singleton,

you're late.

Lance,

what the hell? Now you're late.

How many times

do I need to say it?

Times up,

weigh enough.

It's that bad?

Take 'em in,

Taylor,

we're just

wasting our time out here.

I saw good leaders.

Good men killed in action.

Not because

they made a mistake.

A bullet or a piece of shrapnel

just happened to catch 'em.

That's the

nature of combat.

Other times guys

made mistakes and men died.

Mistakes

happen under pressure.

That's also the

nature of combat.

But there's a third

way I saw men killed.

When someone wasn't

willing to pull their weight.

And no matter how

hard I worked to make up for it,

wasn't always enough.

Singleton, I thought

you were a man of your word.

I see I'm wrong.

And you share

some of the blame Kimball.

You're the

leader of this team.

You're

keeping them shut out.

Sir,

I tried to pull him back in.

Half-heartedly.

You two are

the stern pair.

You're the team within the

team. The other guys follow you.

That's both a

privilege and a responsibility

because if you

refuse to work together

then the team

can't work together.

And if you won't put

aside your egos and resolve this

then I want you to

go out there right now,

look your

teammates in the eye

and tell them not to bother

showing up for practice anymore.

You decide.

Alex,

don't you think we should talk?

It's pretty simple.

I'll give the

team a 100 percent.

You'll stay in stroke.

Well, break it

down, get me the cost analysis.

Hang on.

He switch you back?

I did what you wanted,

and I realized

coach Murphy is right.

I was

willing to slack off.

Shows I didn't

deserve to be in stroke seat

in the first place.

Alex...

Boat's faster with

John in stroke, Dad.

I'll stay in seven seat.

The Olympic

coaches can see me there

and I'll be able

to sleep at night.

We're gonna race.

This'll be a cake walk.

I get a five

minute head start.

Check that.

Not a cake walk.

Five minutes?!

Dude,

there's no way we catch him.

Yes we can,

just follow John.

Let's blow the

doors off this old man.

Ready all!

Row!

Eight lengths up,

but we're flying.

Big 10 in 2,

that's one.

That's two.

That's it,

boys!

Stay strong.

Stop here.

Look around,

take in the moment.

This was your classroom.

You're ready to race.

All right boys,

time to feed the river gods.

Hey Alex,

why don't you give the command?

Are you guys ready?

Throw on two...

One...

Two!

Row!

Drive! Find the

rhythm! Find the rhythm!

That's it,

that's it.

Drive...

We're walking!

MJ,

grab a shirt.

Smells like shit.

Yeah,

newbie!

- Alex Singleton!

- Yeah!

Hi.

I don't want

to bother you.

I just wanted

to apologize...

for being such

a persistent pest.

Thank you.

Alex, do you have a

date for the graduation ball?

Uh,

no.

Neither does Lili.

Sara...

She does now.

I mean if you...

if you'll have me.

All right.

What's wrong?

Look at what

just came in the mail.

You didn't open it?

Why bother? I mean,

look how small the envelope is.

That doesn't

mean anything.

I suppose on the

long list of life's tragedies

not getting the

Rhodes is at the very bottom.

I suppose I could

just go back to London,

and you know, put on my big

girl pants and get a real job.

Hey,

hey...

You can do

anything you want,

go wherever

you want to go.

You're a rockstar.

It's all gonna be fine.

Okay?

Okay. Thank you.

Okay, do you want

to get in the shower,

- and I'll get changed.

- Okay.

We'll get me

that ice cream.

All right,

listen up.

The bus leaves tomorrow morning,

6:00 a.m. sharp.

I know you're

getting dolled up

in your rental tuxedos for

some graduation thing tonight.

I want you to go early,

sip a half-glass

of champagne

and leave early.

This is the last race

before championships.

You have a perfect

record. Let's keep it that way.

- All right?

- Yes, sir.

- Kimball.

- Yeah?

Sir?

National team

coaches called me today.

You interested in

Olympic camp this summer?

Am I interested

in rowing for USA?

I take that as a yes.

Yes sir.

Did Alex get an invite?

That's a

conversation I'll have to manage

after the race.

Did you see our last race?

I did.

We're fast.

You know,

there's no greater feeling

than the pride a

father feels for his son.

And you took

that away from me.

The Olympic

coaches made their calls today.

I can still go to tryouts.

They'd just send you

home after the first day.

- You don't know that.

- Yeah, I do know that.

So what are you going to

do after they send you home?

You got a plan?

You have a job lined up?

No.

Oh,

you know who they did invite?

Kimball.

That's right.

Kimball got your invitation.

He's going to

row in the Olympics.

Dad.

You know what all you

had to do was listen to me.

You know, maybe he

really is the better man.

Sara clearly thinks so.

I have a slight

announcement to make. Bam!

- Oh.

- We did it!

Congrats.

Appreciate it,

thank you, thank you,

couldn't have

done it without you.

You look beautiful.

Thank you.

Y'all ready?

We're gonna dance, what's up.

Can I talk to

you for a minute?

Yeah.

Okay,

so I've been thinking,

do you want me to stay

here with you after I graduate?

I thought you

wanted to go back home.

That was before I realized

I was falling in love with you.

Are you falling

in love with me?

Okay.

How many

times did you tell me

the Rhodes is your dream

and you're

going back to England?

Then you didn't get it,

and suddenly

I'm your fallback option?

No,

that's not what's hap...

So what,

is there somebody else? Or what?

No.

John

mentioned that you have

an ex-girlfriend

back in Wisconsin.

So did you get

back together with her?

Why do I have to

pry everything out of you?

You should go back home.

Did she break your

heart? Is that what happened?

You're so sad.

You're so pathetic.

She broke your heart,

you can't let

anyone else back in again?

Is that what happened,

Chris?

Yeah,

Nish. She did break my heart.

She was in the

car with my parents.

I... I didn't...

I didn't know.

My God, why didn't

you talk about this before?

Why didn't

you say anything?

'Cause talking

won't bring anybody back.

Chris, talking can

help you move past it.

I'm trying to get past it,

I really am.

But every time I row,

it reminds me they're gone.

Why?

Because I insisted

they come

watch some stupid race.

It's always been

about me and rowing.

You can't just

hold on to all of that.

Chris,

you can talk to me.

Can you say

something please?

You should go back home.

Tell everyone

inside that I feel sick.

and I just

want to go home.

Hey.

Hey,

I'm sorry Alex, I don't drink.

- Sorry. I forgot.

- No, no worries.

I just thought the

occasion deserved a toast.

Sara told you?

Told me what?

We got engaged,

man.

Wow. No,

Sara did not tell me.

I'm sorry. I

thought the way you...

No,

dude. Congrats.

Yeah. Thank

you. Thank you.

You got it all,

man.

Stroke seat.

Sara.

- The Olympics.

- Oh, coach told you?

My dad told me.

Congrats again.

Thank you.

What did

you want to toast?

Uh,

to a great team. Forget it.

To a great team.

And a great stern pair.

Get this out of

here before Sara sees.

- Hey.

Why do you

taste like champagne?

Do I?

Hey,

I'm going back to my room.

- Why?

- What happened, where's Nish?

We broke up.

Chris...

Listen... where are you going,

Sara?

We'll talk later.

Wow,

what a great party.

I'm tipsy.

You okay?

Yeah,

long night.

- Talk about it tomorrow?

- Sure.

Oh my god.

I think I've

had enough tonight.

No. Get hideously

drunk with me please.

That's a

good girl. Oh god.

Sara?

You okay?

All right,

let's get you to bed.

Come on. Come on.

There you go. Okay.

John?

John.

What're you doing?

Stay out of this.

What?

Open up!

- Is John here?

- No, what's going on?

Where'd he go?

I don't know. He tore down

all his shirts and stormed out.

He's drinking.

Alex!

What the hell are you doing,

John? Huh?

Listen to me. It's not

what you think, all right?

John,

stop.

It's not what you think,

John. Okay?

God damn it. Stay down.

Put your hands on your

head and take two steps back.

Whoa, Whoa,

Whoa, Whoa. Whoa.

Now.

- Officer it's, it's not what...

- No! Stop!

John!

Shit.

John?

I can't find

him! I can't find him!

John!

John! John!

Where is he?

John?

We'll find

the body at sun-up.

The kid won't quit.

Get in the boat.

No.

Come on,

now, get in the boat.

No,

I can save him. I can save him.

John?

No, he's gone,

you keep diving like that,

you're gonna end up

at the bottom with him.

Now get in this boat,

Chris.

Come on,

come on, come on, now.

Hey.

Look Alex, you can't

blame yourself for this.

You tried to save him.

Okay, the best thing you

can do right now is to get back

on the water. The

championships are this weekend.

You focus on that,

not this.

I'm not rowing.

What do you

mean you're not rowing?

If you don't row

this weekend, son,

you can really kiss

the Olympics goodbye.

Are you kidding me?

I can't face them.

All right. Okay.

You're not going to row.

Nobody's going to row.

Don't touch it.

I just don't get

what happened.

It was Alex.

Nobody wants to say it,

but we're all thinking it.

Gentlemen,

let's have a seat please.

Where's Coach Murphy?

He resigned

after the service.

He's no longer your coach.

Well, as you're aware,

the championship is

in a few days and

in light of this tragedy,

President Harris

and I had a conversation

as to whether

competition was appropriate.

After careful consideration,

we've decided it's best

if you withdraw,

I'm sure you understand.

It's better if we race.

You still wanna race?

What's that going to change?

You want to race?

Go without me. I'm out.

Then we're agreed.

Heard the team

decided not to race.

You resigned.

No,

they forced me out.

None of it matters now.

You sure?

John was the team.

Rowing a boat for six

minutes won't bring him back.

Yeah.

Race is only six minutes,

right?

How could that

possibly matter?

But what if the

race was 60 minutes

or 60 days or 60 years?

Would it matter then?

I rowed in a

boat with your father

way back when at

the Olympic tryouts.

He was a good oarsman,

good man.

We got drafted

into the army together.

You said your dad

didn't talk about the army.

I understand why.

Everyone says thank you,

calls you a hero,

tries to make

you feel better.

It just made

me feel more alone.

I wasn't a hero.

I was just trying to save

my friends and I failed them.

And afterwards,

from time to time,

I'd asked myself

why bother anymore?

And then one day I

realized I shouldn't ask myself.

I should ask them.

If they could come back,

somehow, get a little more life,

little more time,

would they?

Would they come

back even if it meant

constant guilt,

constant pain?

And I knew their

answer would be yes,

even if it was

only for six minutes.

Even if it was with

their hands blistered,

and their lungs burning,

their souls shattered.

They'd come back.

A loss is not the end.

Don't make it into one.

These are for you.

What's this?

They'll

follow. If you lead.

Chris?

Chris,

please open the door.

I know you're in there.

Sara made

this gift for you.

And well,

it was supposed to be for John,

but she asked

me to give it to you

to help you

remember good times.

Chris, I'd really

like to hand it to you.

Okay. I'll just

leave it here then.

I go back to

London tomorrow but...

I really do wish

you so much happiness

and no more heartbreak.

What I said

before was wrong.

I'm sorry.

John was the

heart of this team

and we lost him.

But our

team is still here.

We need to race.

What

are you talking about?

The race is today.

There's no way

we beat Harvard now.

We're gonna race.

Why are they here?

We need two

more to fill out the boat.

Chris.

We can't win,

you know that.

I'll tell you what I know.

I know what it's

like to be alone in a boat

with a bunch

of empty seats.

I know I miss

John. That's a...

big,

big hole.

We have one more race.

to make that

hole a little bit smaller.

I wanna row one more time

with eight of you.

Together. As a team.

Who's with me?

Okay.

I'm in.

Me too.

What the hell.

All right.

This one's old.

I want new ones.

All right, let's get

hands on. Up to heads and go.

Gentleman, put the

boat down. You're not racing.

Split.

Yes,

we are.

I've just left

the regatta director,

your entry has

been withdrawn.

Put it down.

You'll all be charged with

theft of university property.

Let them race,

dad.

If you care about me

at all you'll let them race.

Go around him.

It's okay. Go.

Stern to me.

Sit ready.

Hang!

Build!

Twenty high!

Go!

Legs,

chaaa!

Legs,

chaaa!

In the pop!

Nice.

And that's our big 20.

Go now. Sit up.

Stay relaxed.

Yeah.

Still moving.

Yeah!

That's it! That's it!

Drive! Drive!

Okay boys,

we're in good position.

I got five seats.

Give me six now.

Chris,

we gotta take it up.

Not yet.

Match their move!

We're a length up

on everyone but Harvard!

It's just us and them!

Us and them!

There it is,

there it is.

In the fingers,

in the fingers.

Yeah!

Swing back.

Legs,

chaaa!

That's it boys! Commit!

Match their move!

Chris,

we gotta take it up now.

Not yet.

We're a length down.

Holding at a length down.

Hold for our

move. Hold for our move.

Holding.

Up now!

Let's take it

up! Let's get it back!

Up two in two.

One!

Two!

Push now!

Harvard's calling a push!

Match their

move! Match their move!

That's it! Keep walking!

Give me that four seat!

We're walking!

Give me that three seat!

More.

Three seats!

And walking!

Find it! Dig it!

Take it back!

That's you,

MJ!

Legs Chaaa!

Clean. Good.

We're the national champions.

In two,

ten to break.

Go!

One! Yeah!

There it is. We're gone.

They're done!

Ted.

Eyes closed.

What?

Eyes closed.

Okay,

boys.

Listen up.

Close your eyes.

Eyes closed.

Close your eyes.

It's raining.

Are you

gonna say anything?

I wish it was snowing.

Heart of Champions (2021) - full transcript