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Have you ever told someone who is upset to relax? Yeah. Experience has taught me it’s the worst possible thing to say to my wife in stressful moments and has the exact opposite effect.
The Novice is a movie about a young woman, Alex Dall, who is a freshman at a university where she is driven in all things. Not just academics, but her determination to not only be on the rowing team, but the make varsity crew her first year as a novice.
She’s intense beyond the point of common sense, thus the refrain from those around her to relax. But she can’t she’s driven to succeed no matter how much she hurts herself. And ignores those around her.
Overall, I wasn’t very engaged in the movie. As with all my reviews it’s largely because of my background and point of view. Having been through numerous hard-core training programs I winced every time some varsity members would sneer “Novice” as it was Plebe or any other term I’ve heard over the years. It sounds funny coming out of the mouth of some 20-something about rowing. But when it’s your priority I guess it’s important.
I just wasn’t into the way the theme and message were hammered home. Every time the image of the crab was shown, I assume that was an insight into Dall’s feverish mind, but her actions were enough to show that. It felt like overkill…
