Review of Invictus (2009) by Greg L — 19 Jun 2012

The story of the 1995 South African World Cup rugby team, and Nelson Mandela's attempt to use it to help heal his broken nation, is definitely a compelling one. Unfortunately, this movie is too riddled with flaws to do it justice.

Morgan Freeman is a great choice to play Mandela - not only does he look the part, but he's one of the few actors with the gravity and moral authority to convincingly play a living symbol of hope and forgiveness.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of casting the slightly-built and ineradicably American Matt Damon as Springboks captain Francois Pienaar, a working class Afrikaaner who in real-life was an intimidatingly large presence on the field at 6'3", 240 pounds.

The rugby scenes are chaotically shot, which might been acceptable if they weren't so poorly framed in the story, and subplots involving Mandela's family troubles and the struggle of Pienaar's bigoted father to accept the new South Africa which might have provided needed depth to both characters are woefully underdeveloped.

Lastly, Eastwood, a director who usually eschews cheap sentimentality and pat symbolism, goes all in on both counts in the closing thirty minutes with plenty of slow-mo, a soundtrack that provides a swelling orchestral flourish for every big moment, and obvious images like a white taxi driver and a black street kid bonding as they listen to the final tense few minutes of the big game on the radio.

I'd like to see a great movie about the power of nationalism and sporting passion to be forces for good rather than ill, but "Invictus" isn't it.