Invictus is a movie about the end of apartheid in South Africa and the early part of the presidency of Nelson Mandela, disguised as a sports film. It’s interesting and engaging and Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Nelson Mandela would’ve easily won an Oscar if he were not pitted against Jeff Bridge’s inspiring performance in Crazy Heart.
The first thing that surprised me about Invictus is that it was directed by Clint Eastwood. I didn’t know that going in, didn’t notice that while I was watching, and was surprised only to learn it later. It didn’t feel like an Eastwood film, not in the least, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just didn’t have the tone of the movies he usually makes. It’s a good movie, but not the kind of cinema that we’re used to from Eastwood. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s missing, but I can try.
A few elements stand out. I think the movie suffers, foremost, from a bit of an identity crisis. It’s trying to be two movies at once: a film about Nelson Mandela and a film about rugby and I don’t think it manages to pull either off extraordinarily well. Granted, it’s an interesting premise for a movie: Mandela is trying to reunite his racially divided country around the Rugby World Cup, but it’s execution isn’t incredible. It suffers from under-development of both of these plots simply, I think, because they’re trying to tell too much story in one movie.
Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Mandela, however, is worth seeing the movie for. He really does an outstanding job and it’s impressive how Eastwood managed to cut Freeman into actual stock footage of Mandela, mixing it in to give the movie a very authentic and happening feel. I liked it, but I would’ve liked to have seen more of Matt Damon as well. Like I said, this movie tends to spread itself a bit thin and if anyone got the short end of things it was Damon, in my opinion.
I liked Invictus, all of that said. It hit home, in a way, since both Maria and I have spent some time living in South Africa. It was a lot of fun seeing the landscapes and the sets. It was a pleasure hearing the South African accents again. The enjoyment of hearing Damon put on a near-perfect Afrikaans accent was worth admission alone. But the film doesn’t just appeal to people who’ve been to the country. It was truly a good film, but I wouldn’t go further than good. To impress me, a film doesn’t have to be ground-breaking or breath-taking or an incredible artistic feat it just has to be well done and Invictus didn’t quite get there. It was good, but not amazing. Something interesting to watch, but not life-changing. It has some flaws, but it’s still enjoyable. I guess, ultimately, take that for what it’s worth.
[...] like sports movies, pretty much as a rule, because I don’t really like sports. But, like Invictus, which I reviewed earlier, The Blind Side isn’t so much about sports as it is about the human [...]