Movie Review: Invictus

Feb 10 2010 by Ian Bunting, Airdrie & Coatbridge

Invictus

INVICTUS tells the true story of Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) and his attempts to bring the racially-divided people of South Africa together.

Mandela teams up with the country’s rugby captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to use sport to reach his goal, with the 1995 Rugby World Cup trophy the target.

With talent like Clint Eastwood in the director’s chair and Freeman and Damon on-screen, it’s no surprise that Invictus arrives during the ‘awards season.’

Eastwood’s track record behind the camera is very impressive but Invictus doesn’t quite hit the superb heights of Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River and is more in line with his last two films, the very good Changeling and Gran Torino.

Freeman, one of the finest actors of this or any generation, teams with Eastwood for the third time to take on the role of one of history’s most famous figures.

He is terrific, but then again he always tends to be. Aside from a South African accent and slightly slow walk he is just the same warm, likeable Morgan Freeman.

One or two weary looks hint at Mandela’s turbulent past but Freeman’s Mandela is best summed up by the wide grin on his face when he hears of the team’s success. This is a man determined to succeed in reuniting his nation.

Damon is a long way from Jason Bourne. He’s soft spoken and down to earth. Pienaar isn’t a ‘shouty’ captain but holds the respect of his teammates. A bloody scrum speech and his tactic of dealing with an opposing player, “I will break my arm, my leg, my neck but I will not let that man go,” hint at a steely underbelly.

Both Freeman and Damon have been nominated for Oscars for their performances. As good as they are, they’ve been better. But there’s no grandstanding and playing real-life people is an Academy favourite so don’t be surprised to see one of them pick up a win.

Eastwood touches on the racial tensions during the first 40 minutes, black and white kids on opposing sides of a road and Mandela’s security team, but this is, essentially, a typical against all odds sports movie.

I’m not a big rugby fan but Eastwood puts his camera in amongst the on-field action, with a little ‘bone crunching’ and aggro bringing a welcome edge to the matches.

There are missteps. The song Colorblind, by Overtone, is a bit cheesy and out of place. Pienaar’s visions of Mandela in prison also felt forced and characters continually asking questions about rugby got quite annoying.

Invictus is an awe-inspiring tale that, despite being over two hours long, does pull you in.

It’s not quite World Cup winning material but Eastwood, Freeman and Damon comfortably avoid the sin bin.

Rating - 8 out of 10.