Invictus is a movie directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala, Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy, Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens, Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne Feyder, Adjoah Andoh as Brenda Mazibuko, and Marguerite Wheatley as Nerine.
Having played rugby in college this was a movie I was really looking forward to seeing. Even though I knew the outcome of the game I was very interested. The movie begins with Nelson Mandela taking power in South Africa. I must admit that living during the time that South Africa was practicing Apartheid I was not really aware that rugby was considered the game of the ruling white minority and that soccer (football) was the game of the majority black population. So, that was an enlightening part of this movie.
Mandela was a very shrewd person and if this movie is historically accurate he certainly knew what he was doing. He recognized that the minority whites biggest fear was that Mandela would deny and remove any vestige of the white culture would only anger them and push the country farther apart rather than unifying them. He did this despite the fact that given the atrocities that this white ruling class had perpetrated on the blacks for years made many feel he would have been justified in doing so.
The movie follows the South African National Rugby team as they prepare for the Rugby World Cup that will eventually be held in South Africa. Anyone who follows rugby is aware that the Springboks end up winning the cup. I wonder would this movie have been made if the Hollywood ending would not have been realized. If it wouldn't have it would have been a real shame because it was an eye opening view of South Africa.
The movie gets its name from a poem by William Ernest Henley and is a poem that Mandela would read during his imprisonment. Mandela shares the poem with Pienaar to give him some strength and motivation. Here it is.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus was nominated for two Academy Awards. Not surprisingly Morgan Freeman was nominated as Best Actor for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Francois Pineaar. I have a theory about the Academy and portraying a real person. It seems like it is almost an automatic nomination. Ghandi, Lawrence of Arabia, Ray, Julie & Julia, Erin Brockovich and I'm sure you can think of plenty more. I am not sure why this seems to happen, because to me acting is more about bringing life to a character, not trying to mimic a real persons behavior. I am not an actor so I don't know, but to me doing an impression of someone is not nearly as impressive to me as taking a fictional character and making them appear real, but that is just my opinion.
Regardless Morgan Freeman was nominated for Best Actor for his role. This was his fifth nomination and second for Best Actor. His other three were for Supporting Actor and this was his first nomination since he won the Oscar for his role in Million Dollar Baby. Which coincidentally was also a Clint Eastwood film. Freeman was up against the following individuals for the Oscar.
- Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart
- Colin Firth as George in A Single Man
- George Clooney as Ryan Bingham in Up in the Air
- Jeremey Renner as Staff Sergeant William James in The Hurt Locker
The other nomination went to Matt Damon, who owns an Oscar for his work on Good Will Hunting, but has not made the breakthrough on the acting side of things as yet. He was nominated on his acting in Good Will Hunting, but won for writing. Matt was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor role. He was up against the following actors
- Woody Harrelson as Captain Tony Stone in The Messenger
- Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy in The Last Station
- Stanley Tucci as George Harvey in The Lovely Bones
- Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds
Did Waltz deserve it. Probably. I have yet to see the Last Station, so I can't comment on Plummer's performance, but Harrelson and Tucci were phenomenal in their roles as well. I am ok with Waltz winning but I still think that Harrelson might have been given a bit of a snub. I could have easily seen him winning. If Waltz and Harrelson are 1a and 1b, then Tucci is not a very distant 2nd choice.
Overall, this movie did not disappoint me. Rarely does Clint Eastwood disappoint. Of course the subject being rugby helped, but in the grand scheme of things this movie really isn't about rugby. It is about racism and it is about forgiveness. It is about looking past previous transgressions and moving on to bigger and better things. All things that most of us wish we could do, but many of us struggle with on a daily basis. Mandela was a remarkable man and this movie helps reinforce it.
I give it 4.5 Stars.
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