Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgroge, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern, Adjoa Andoh, Julian Lewis Jones, Marguerite Wheatley, Patrick Lister, Penny Downie.
As an actor Clint Eastwood was easily typecast as the tough, taciturn, anti-authoritarian anti-hero in countless westerns and detective films. But as a director he has been a lot tougher to pigeonhole, particularly in the past fifteen years or so, when he has made some wonderful movies across many different genres. He is in the middle of a particularly creative and prolific period at the moment with some of his best work. His recent films include the Oscar winning revisionist western Unforgiven, Mystic River, the WWII drama Flags Of Our Fathers, the powerful and moving Million Dollar Baby, The Changeling, and Gran Torino, amongst others. Many of these films deal with themes of forgiveness, redemption, trying to overcome the past, and the horrific impact of violence and death.
His latest film, his 30th as a director, is Invictus, a rousing and uplifting blend of sports and politics based on a true event from recent history. This powerful and inspirational drama is set against the changing backdrop of South Africa in the post apartheid era.
It’s 1995, and Nelson Mandela (played with great conviction by Morgan Freeman) has been elected President and given the enormous task of trying to bring the deeply divided nation together. He was ready to forgive the previous regime that had imprisoned him for three decades, but he also had to convince his fellow countrymen to move on from their bitter hatred. One of the first steps he takes is in combining loyal ANC members and former Afrikaner Special Branch police as part of his bodyguard team. Trying to rebuild his nation and pull the people together, Mandela seized on the Rugby World Cup as a potential rallying point.
To most black South Africans, the Springboks were a hated symbol of the apartheid past. Mandela enlisted the aid of Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, to try to help heal the nation. He encouraged Pienaar to take his tem into the townships and teach the impoverished youngsters there about the sport. The Springboks were massive underdogs, but they made their way to the Grand Final, where they faced the invincible and all-conquering New Zealand All Blacks. Their famous upset victory was the first major step in helping South Africa move forward on the world stage.
Based on John Carlin’s non-fiction book Playing The Enemy, Invictus is not a straight biopic about Mandela; nor is Eastwood interested in giving us a history lesson. This is primarily an entertaining film, albeit with serious concerns.
Many actors have played Nelson Mandela, but this is the role Freeman was born to play. He captures his sense of dignity, humanity and humility, and his statesman-like presence, but he also portrays him as a wily and selfless politician. Matt Damon is also very good as Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, whose help Mandela enlists in his bold strategy.
Eastwood directs with his usual economy of style, and he deftly shows us the myriad conflicts that divide South Africa. He subtly draws plenty of contrasts that illustrate how South Africa was divided by more than just race and politics. In the opening scene we see white public school boys playing rugby on their lush sports ground in their colourful uniforms, while just across the road in a shanty town black youths run around on a gravel playing field, in tattered second hand clothes and without shoes, playing soccer. Eastwood’s staging of the climactic rugby games is laden with cliches, but it is still stirring stuff, superbly photographed by his regular collaborator Tom Stern.
The film takes its title from the inspirational Victorian era poem that Mandela studied whilst in prison. Invictus may not be Eastwood’s best film, but it still confirms his status as probably the most interesting and best commercial mainstream director working in Hollywood today.
***1/2