It’s okay to feel good
This is the story of Nelson Mandela’s (Morgan Freeman) efforts to begin the repair process of a very broken South Africa. Having spent 27 years in prison, Mandela is freed from his bondage and elected, by the people of South Africa, as president. The tension in the story is high, as most whites believe that there is going to be some violent change in society due to the atrocities that were performed on Mandela, and more importantly the blacks of South Africa. The black population of the country wants that type of liberation. Everything that the white folk of South Africa have set-up they want to tear down; starting with the Springbok rugby team. The team colors and name give South Africa a stern reminder of the past political party’s rule and oppression. Mandela overrules the ruling of a sports committee to change the name/colors for the Springboks and convinces the people to trust him and support their national team. François Pienaar (Matt Damon), who wants only to win and make his country proud, is invited to share in Mandela’s dream of uniting the people of South Africa; starting with the winning of the world cup of rugby. A tough task for a team that has been struggling within its own league, but also a chance for South Africa to come together to celebrate the first of many victories and moments of celebration that the country is barely use to having.
Typically for director Clint Eastwood his movies are filled with ups and downs. He always has a struggling protagonist trying to make a better life for themselves. It showed up in Million Dollar Baby and it reared its head, differently, in Gran Torino. There was always failure before redemption in each of these films.
Invictus is a different type of story. It’s not an ‘Eastwood’ film that we’re use to seeing. It’s a film that focuses one man’s effort to help two very different groups of people learn the words ‘forgiveness’ and ‘together’. It’s a movie that isn’t looking for redemption as much as it’s looking for a ‘repair’. What’s even more fascinating about this film is that the ‘bad’ situation that collapsed the storyline into an upward arc is how the movie begins.
It’s as if the tragedy has already happened and the characters are well underway to repairing the situation that appears to be broken.
For many critics this type of formula for a film probably feels unusual. Typically there is some sort of roller coaster ride that stories take where there are high points and low points. Invictus, much like the man leading the story, is only looking for repair and high points. For me, I found this type of storytelling very refreshing. If this is how the true story played out then there’s no reason to ‘Hollywood’ it. If Mandela helped convince a national rugby team to unite a country that desperately needed uniting then why would you tell any other story? Again, it may not be ‘Hollywood’, but it’s definitely a story worth telling.
Shifting gears just slightly, I was really impressed with Damon and Freeman. I was impressed with Freeman’s performance because he embodied Mandela perfectly. He brought peace with him to a role that demanded revenge. He played a very humbled, beautiful leader and did it well. When he speaks at the sports club meeting you’ll listen just as intently as everyone else in the room. This man was Mandela for all intents and purposes.
As for Damon, surprisingly he was subtle. I’m okay with subtle. He wasn’t the focus of this story; he was the means to deliver a message. He took the entire concept of who Pienaar was and translated it perfectly to film. He was humble, quiet and more importantly focused on his job to help South Africa unite. On a side note, he nailed the South African accent. I’ve known a few people from South Africa and they spoke just like he did.
Anyway, the movie is brilliant. You may feel a bit unsatisfied because there aren’t really any dips in the storyline, but in the end you’ll be a better person after having watched Invictus.
If you’re going to watch the film then you’ll want to watch it on Blu-ray. While the film used for this production certainly didn’t help the HD quality a bit, there is a difference between it and DVD. This is the first time I noticed a film type actually getting in the way of the HD transfer. It doesn’t look as sharp as other Blu-rays, but it’s still better than DVD. The most impressive scene in the film is when the large airliner swoops down during the final match. The mixture of very bright, vivid extreme wide shot of the stadium and the flyby of the plane is brilliantly shot and edited. It looks superb on Blu-ray. The audio is equally as powerful as you’ll want to chant the national anthem of South Africa towards the end. It’s gorgeous as it is moving.
For features, here’s what you get:
– In-depth PiP
– Mandela Meets Morgan
– The Eastwood Factor (neat stuff)
– Matt Damn Plays Rugby
– Invictus Music Trailer
– Vision, Courage and Honor
– Digital Copy
– DVD