Review of 42 (2013) by Marakai — 30 Aug 2020

There was a time when baseball films where the go-to sports films of Hollywood and there were plenty that were actually very good; Kevin Costner batted a couple in quick succession in the late 80’s with Bull Durham and Field of Dreams which coincided with John Sayles’ excellent historical take on the Chicago White Sox’s match-fixing scandal in Eight Men Out.

In the 90’s, we also had the biopics with John Goodman as The Babe (Ruth) and Tommy Lee Jones as (Ty) Cobb. It was only a matter time then before we got the one of the sports biggest success stories in Jackie Robinson.

Robinson was the first African-American player to play in the Major League but his journey and struggle was always less than smooth. Baseball, more often than not, transfers well to the screen and Brian Helgeland’s 42 is another that works well due to its impressive production design of the 1940’s and the actors’ commitment.

Harrison Ford (taking on the lesser role of executive Branch Rickey) delivers a gleefully histrionic performance that he’s not often known for but it’s the late Chadwick Boseman who takes centre stage and embodies the remarkable Robinson with a strong central performance.

Admittedly, it works it’s way through the plethora of sports cliche’s but it’s a film that’s about more than just the game itself. It’s a film about human rights and the triumph of the spirit to overcome such sickeningly racist obstacles that have no place in sport (or anywhere for that matter).