The best sports films are not about sports. They are instead about the people who play them, their relationships, or something grander. Clint Eastwood’s Invictus takes aim at being the most grandiose narrative to ever masquerade as a physical activity. Considering the crew and talent behind it and their stack of Oscars, it would be unwise to have placed doubt on it.
In a nutshell, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is the new President of South Africa. On a campaign to unite his country and put apartheid in the past, Mandela has taken a liking to the nation’s top rugby team, the Springboks. This is a predominately white team, whose shot at winning the World Cup could make massive strides in building unity for the citizens of South Africa. Mandela contacts the team’s captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) in order to show support for the team, hoping that the rest of the country will follow his lead.
There will be much Oscar talk regarding Morgan Freeman’s Nelson Mandela, and I second it. Freeman is absolutely captivating in what could be the best performance of his storied career. As Mandela, Freeman does everything just right aside from share DNA. His performance shines brightly in an otherwise well lit interior. Matt Damon is strong though just outside of his typical Jason Bourne role. The supporting bodyguards of Mandela are also worth mentioning despite having limited roles. My favorite of the group is Hendrick Booyens (Matt Stern), who gradually warms up to the new administration.
Invictus bares visual similarities with other recent Eastwood films—if you like the color green, this is your movie. I didn’t spot many flashy effects, but I wonder just how many real people filled the stands for the making of this film. If it’s an illusion, it’s a good one.
Being a 7th Dan Black Belt practitioner of nitpicksu, I do have some additional comments. I hope that in his next outing Clint finds a better way to handle exposition than through the most contrived dialogue in the biz. Just as Walt Kowalski didn’t need to utter under his breath about showing respect at the funeral for one’s own grandmother; Jason doesn’t need to exclaim about the press giving Nelson a hard time just one day into the job… to Nelson’s face. Not knowing rugby, I didn’t understand the circumstances of what constitutes adding point to the board, but then again Rocky didn’t walk us through how to gain points in a boxing round. I do however place some blame on Eastwood for confusing me as to what stage of the World Cup we were watching, especially toward the end where it seemed that Springbok was playing for a chance to enter the finals. Lastly, I know that all the components are present to invoke an emotional response from most, but I didn’t feel it. Maybe there could have been more jokes or more tears, but I didn’t leave feeling as inspired as Clint expected. Regardless these are not valid reasons for skipping out on this wonderful film. ***½
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