The Novice is the debut feature from writer/director Lauren Hadaway, who’s previously worked as a sound editor on a number of major Hollywood films over the past decade including Whiplash, The Hateful Eight, and Zach Snyder’s Justice League. Inspired by her own experiences in competitive collegiate rowing, Hadaway’s film leads us down a dark tunnel of psychological thrill and into a visceral viewing experience.
Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrman) joins her college rowing team as a freshman; a role condescendingly referred to as “novice” by the team’s very exclusive upperclassmen. When Alex gets an opportunity to compete for a spot to race with the varsity boat, her willpower to be the absolute best pushes her past all physical and emotional extremes in order to achieve her goal.
The foremost strength of the film can be found in its remarkable craft. It’s clear that Hadaway’s previous production experiences have given her an advantage over many debut directors in knowing how to utilize different production elements to most effectively tell her story. Every aspect of the design is used to emphasize the strenuousness of Alex’s physical world, while also letting us into the psychological obsession that she is constantly experiencing. There are many powerful editing sequences, from Alex drilling exercise reps to fully fledged rowing races that are stylistically heightened to ramp up the intensity of these activities. The college used for the production design features Brutalist architecture with thick concrete walls and sharp angles to create a confining sense of environmental pressure. The exercise machines used to practice the rowing motion produce a sound effect that resembles oars pushing through water.
Alex Weston’s powerful score features pulsating strings backed by vicious drumming. Additionally, the film’s soundtrack juxtaposes ‘60s pop music (with several selections from Brenda Lee) against the intensity of the more physically grueling moments to create a sort of timeless, nostalgic quality with the soundscape. The film looks and sounds as polished as any movie produced at this scale, with the exception of a late sequence that’s slightly too dark and overstimulating to the point that it becomes difficult to discern exactly what’s happening.
The Novice showcases a towering lead performance from Isabelle Fuhrman. She gives it her all and then some in a role that appears to be extremely demanding. The limited dialogue in the screenplay means that Fuhrman must communicate primarily through action as we spend much of the film witnessing Alex’s emotional and physical stress, usually through her training. However, as effective as these sequences can be, too much of the film feels like watching a series of well-shot training montages that don’t change enough over the course of the film. With Alex’s character already in full determination mode at the start of the film, there is little growth for the character, causing some of these sequences to become somewhat repetitive.
Narratively, the film holds a lot back from us in the beginning. There is little to no exposition as we jump right into Alex’s first practice without getting to know anything about her outside of how she approaches this new challenge. We don’t know a lot about what drives Alex beyond this desire to reach her target of being the fastest on the team. Seeing as she has no prior history with rowing, it’s easy to question why she continues to do something that only serves as the source of her own self-destruction. It’s unclear why she’s chosen rowing over any other activity or what her ultimate goal is once she hits her objective. However, there is a clear psychological drive that seems to compel Alex. We get a sense that she suffers from some form of anxiety as her obsession carries over into every aspect of her life and some of her behavior becomes rather dangerous. While we do come to learn more about Alex’s specific history as the narrative moves along, the film is still lacking a true sense of external need to allow for more insight into how Alex’s mind works so that we are able to fully connect with her. The film feels slightly too narrow in its focus and could have benefited from spending more time with Alex outside of rowing.
We’ve seen a number of contemporary films, such as Black Swan or Whiplash, that feature a protagonist who pushes themselves past their own extremes in the pursuit of achieving some measurable sense of “greatness.” Whether it’s excellence in sports or in some form of artistic ambition, these stories usually tie the external stakes with something that’s very personal and deeply connected to one’s psyche. The Novice is a solid exploration of this idea, even if its characterization feels a little too shallow to fully support the depths of its filmmaking ambition.
