image1 Freeman/Damon image2 Mandela/Pienaar
Rarely has a film been more concerned with presenting visual binary opposites than the Clint Eastwood directed Invictus. From the opening shots onwards, the audience is continually beaten over the head with the black and white dichotomy of South Africa. In fairness, it would be hard to tell the story of modern South Africa and not have the issue of skin colour at the forefront; however the approach taken by Eastwood leaves no scope for audience knowledge. Invictus is a film about South Africa but made with very American sensibilities, a combination which lacks subtlety.
Taking John Carlin’s book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, and turning it into a film which explores the relationship between Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman, Se7en, Million Dollar Baby) and the South African rugby captain, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon, The Bourne Trilogy, The Informant!), seems to have Oscar-bait written all over it. Mandela’s struggle to unite South Africa, using the 1995 Rugby World Cup his country was hosting, is rousing and inspiring stuff; especially considering the mantle he used to bring his people together, the Springboks, was one of the most public embodiments of Apartheid for black South Africans.
In a role that he seems born to play, Morgan Freeman does a great job as Nelson Mandela. He has his voice and physical stance down to a tee, not to mention the gravitas both men seem to share. Matt Damon is perhaps a little less successful in the accent stakes, but his commitment to the role is evident in his rugby player shaped physic. What the film lacks is certainly not good actors. The problem is all the little choices that have been made regarding shot angles and soundtrack, and this seems to fall on the head of the usually impressive Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Changeling).
Full review at Trespass
