Invictus
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng and Marguerite Wheatley
Releasing in cinemas: 21 January 2010
Rated: NYR (likely M)
And the winners are Eastwood and Freeman
Workaholic veteran
film director Clint Eastwood (at near 80) brings us another essay on reconciliation
and forgiveness, this time in South Africa rather than Gran Torino’s
small town America. Invictus is a powerful and moving film based
on the book Playing The Enemy by John Carlin, with the screenplay
from Anthony Peckham. Eastwood has lost none of his skill as a filmmaker
and teller of important stories. Here he fuses the political with the
sporting in a stirring tribute to a famous leader.
After his election
as President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) understands
his nation is racially and economically still divided after the apartheid
era. Believing he can bring his people together through sport, Mandela
encourages Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) the disgruntled captain of South
Africa’s Springboks rugby team to join forces in an effort to unit
the country. The Springboks have been a symbol of Afrikaner pride and
shunned by most of the black community. At this stage, they have also
been losing quite badly.
Through Mandela’s unswerving support and Pienaar’s gritty
determination, the underdog team climbs through the ranks to make a run
at the 1995 World Cup against New Zealand’s aggressive All Blacks.
The toughly fought match ends in a nail-biting finish. It's the stuff
of legend but a true story. ‘Invictus’ (meaning invincible),
a poem by William Ernest Henley, inspired Mandela during his long incarceration,
and he gives a copy to young Pienaar trusting it will equally inspire
him.
Clint Eastwood, one of the most important directors working today, has
in the last twelve months helmed three films including Changeling
and the outstanding Gran Torino and now Invictus. Dirty
Harry has come a long way. He’s aided by the astonishing performance
of Morgan Freeman as Mandela. He seems to actually become the lonely leader
in a time of serious divisions, even developing a clipped style of delivery
in keeping with the real man. The early days following Mandela’s
election are particularly well conceived. Matt Damon shows his versatility;
in The Informer he played a well heeled suit, now he’s
effectively buffed as captain of the Springboks. His co-starring performance
matches Freeman’s and their scenes together impress.
Your reviewer must admit no knowledge whatever of rugby, an apparently
violent and complex sport, and only a general understanding of South Africa’s
unhappy political history, yet this film made a marked impression. Nelson
Mandela comes across as an exceptional human being, able to forgive those
27 years of imprisonment and strive to bring white and blacks together
his new South Africa. Freeman plays the part so compassionately it must
be award material. A particularly moving scene is set in the old prison.
Freeman has worked with Eastwood before in Million Dollar Baby
to gain an Oscar for best supporting actor. With luck he'll be looking
at another nomination for this towering portrayal.
It’s usually the sign of a good novel when the first sentence grabs
your attention. Equally so in films, when the first shot does likewise.
In Invictus the opening scene makes a statement about the whole story,
a slow pan contrasting the white rugby team playing in pleasant surroundings
to black kids playing in a dusty wasteland.
Cinematography, often using a soaring camera, captures both the grotty
feel of the slums and the relative opulence of the official buildings,
as well as impressive views of Cape Town (the film was totally filmed
on location in Cape Town and Johannesburg). Smart camerawork and incisive
editing of the rugby matches is up with the best sporting films. It would
be hard to come away from the exuberant ending of Invictus without
being emotionally uplifted. That’s more than can be said for many
films.
John Bale