Legendary and award-winning director, Clint Eastwood, returns behind the lens with Invictus, the story of how Nelson Mandela used the South African rugby team's pursuit of the Rugby World Cup to unite his country after the fall of apartheid. It is an effective and inspiring history lesson and one that should be seen for those who are unfamiliar with the story. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't completely deliver and falls just short of greatness.
Morgan Freeman embodies Nelson Mandela and is the perfect casting choice. No one else could so perfectly channel the personality of Mandela, one of the most important and well-known figures in the world. I think Freeman is one of the most talented actors around and here he is given the difficult task of portraying a man who is beloved by many. It is a task that he is up for and he delivers in a performance that is sure to garner him another Oscar nomination. Not to be outdone, Matt Damon more than holds his own as the captain of the rugby squad. Damon has evolved into one of cinema's finest actors and here he is given difficult material to work with and forced to act opposite one of the best in the business. Yet, he dominates each scene and never lets Freeman steal the movie.
What I liked best about the movie was that it provided a great history lesson about the divisions running through South Africa at the time Nelson Mandela was president. This was something I was not familiar with and the film does a good job of showing just how monumental and historic was Mandela's presidency. He had the unenviable task of uniting two sides that had hated each other for decades. Where the film missteps, however, is in its depiction of rugby. I knew absolutely nothing about the sport before I saw the movie and I still know nothing about the sport after seeing it. The film really makes no attempt to explain or define any of the terms or plays that happen in a game of rugby so viewers like me who know nothing about it will be utterly confused, as I was, during the climactic game. I had no idea what was going on for the entire last twenty minutes of the movie and I wish that Eastwood had done more to explain what was going on. This movie is going to be playing in places that have never even heard of rugby so there should have been somewhere in the movie an explanation of the rules so that audiences would be better able to follow along with the sports scenes. This doesn't completely ruin the movie but it does give the film a little less dramatic buildup than it should have during the final scenes.
Further, there is very little suspense throughout the film and that hurts it too. We know that Nelson Mandela is going to survive so when there is what appears to be an assassination attempt on him near the end of the film, we can already tell that it is a red herring. Therefore, the film lacks suspense and therefore any surprise. Lastly, the film sometimes can get too bogged down in sports movies clichés. There is the inspirational speech to the team in the locker room scene, there is the hand wringing, “will the team win the final game” scene, and there is even the slow-motion shot as the ball heads to the goal. I expect better from Clint Eastwood than to resort to those kinds of clichés. That also keeps it from greatness.
Clint Eastwood has directed some of cinema's finest films: Letters from Iwo Jima, Mystic River, and Million Dollar Baby. I've come to expect great things from him and so I was slightly disappointed with his latest offering. It's still an excellent film and well worth seeing but I know Clint can do better so I left feeling slightly disappointed. I still recommend it highly for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon's great performances and the valuable history lesson it teaches but it is far from Eastwood's best and therefore one of his weaker films. Still, a weak film from Eastwood is better than most of what's out there so I still recommend seeing this movie. Just don't be expecting his usual greatness!! Grade: B
