Invictus 

Stars: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Matt Stern and Julian Lewis Jones
Director: Clint Eastwood
Scriptwriter: Anthony Peckham from John Carlin’s book “Playing the Enemy”
Composers: Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
Cinematography: Tom Stern
Warner Brothers
Rating: PG 13 for brief strong language and sports action

Running Length: 135 minutes

 

Morgan Freeman does it again. The actor manages to inhabit a role and bring the character to life. This time, it is 1995, and he takes on Nelson Mandela in the story of Mandela’s promoting the South African Rugby Team to start winning and bring the Rugby World’s Cup to South Africa. This is a dream that came true and is based on the real life season, highlights of which are shown at the film’s end.  Matt Damon plays Francois, the team captain, who is a man of few words, but can inspire men to play ball.

 

The story begins with Mandela’s release from prison and running for political office, which he wins. What next? How to unite a country that has a history of violent apartheid. Well, one of the ways, besides being a smooth diplomat, is to bring sports into the mix. If you can get whites and blacks to cheer for the same team, this could help to bring the country together. In between scenes of Mandela meeting with Francois and watching rugby games, the president meets with heads of state to encourage investing in the “new’ South Africa. I wish there had been more in-depth diplomacy here, to study his methods. Instead, we are to believe that a few well-chosen words inspires others to greatness. William Henley’s poem, Invictus”is hinted at throughout and I don’t believe the poet’s name is actually used, but you get the message about being the “captain of your soul.”

 

In a way, I was disappointed in Invictus. With such a bold title, it should inspire the film to greatness, but director Clint Eastwood has taken a mild hand here. The president’s bodyguards, some former secret police, get along without incident, we don’t see riots, and the only display of impending doom is when the New Zealand Rugby Team does a Maori field exercise before the big game. That would frighten anyone.

 

With the exception of Freeman’s Mandela, who rarely cracks a smile at anything, none of the rest of the cast makes an impression. There is his private secretary, hints at dissension in his own family between he and his wife and daughter, and worries about the president’s safety. That’s it, then on to another shot of the team on tour.

 

The best scenes in the film are the one in which the rugby team tours the prison where Mandela was held for 30 years. Damon closes the door and stands alone, getting the immediacy of an experience of captivity. The other is the Big Game, and if you didn’t know anything about rugby before, you will see a relationship between it and American football, including kicking the ball between goal posts and tackling. Rugby players don’t wear protective padding, and you wonder how they can walk off the field after a game.

 

Invictus is a heart-felt attempt to show us the inner workings of a famous person, but, in my book, it falls short. Each comment from Mandela is concise and meant to inspire, like a mini-sermon. Instead of the high road, director Clint Eastwood takes the middle of the road.

 

 

Copyright 2010 Marie Asner