Film review: Invictus is Clint Eastwood’s best yet

Invictus
Warner Bros. Pictures

I once read the films Clint Eastwood directed weren’t big box office draws, but they did grab the attention of those handing out the Oscars. That might be true for some of his past projects, but Invictus throws that stereotype out the window. It’s definitely his best film yet and, although it definitely will garner Oscar attention and praise, it will capture the fans at the box office as well.

Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon together are a treat for moviegoers. It’s probably the best combination of actors with a director whose careear spans decades. No matter what others might say about Eastwood’s past successes, he can hang his hat on Invictus for sure. It’s an awe-inspiring story that’ll shake audiences to the core with its universal themes of forgiveness, reconciliation, hope, restoration and change.

Following the true story of Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) a year into his presidency of South Africa, it depicts the story of how he — with the help of the the captain of the national rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) – began the healing process of a nation torn apart racially and economically by apartheid for half a century.

Rugby may be at the center of this movie, but like 2004’s Miracle, there is a deeper, political weight to it.  As with Miracle, where the underdogs won Olympic hockey gold even though they weren’t expected to win, Invictus shows the underdogs winning against all odds. Sheer determination and will helped build South Africa’s rugby team from a team where no black South Africans cheered for to a team who has had staying power in that realm since their first World Cup win in 1995. That determination and will also made them more than just a rugby team; they were a symbol for a nation trying to rid itself of ties to the past — ties of hatred and injustice.

Although the film touches on the political aspects of apartheid, it’s not solely a political movie. If it had been, I might have fallen asleep. All that information is in history books and was watched by millions around the world via TV in the early to mid-’90s. The appeal of the movie is the human aspect of it. It focuses on Mandela the man, not Mandela the politician. It finds a balance between his humanity and the reality in which he lived.

Freeman and Damon were superb in their portrayals of Mandela and Pienaar. I’m glad they were the only two recognizable actors in the film. Otherwise, the balance of characters would have been thrown off because the movie really is about these two men and how they made a “human calculation” — as Freeman says at one point in the movie — not a political one when they chose to unite the country through sport instead of arguing socio-economic issues. If the movie had only featured these two actors and no others, it still would have been a magnificent film. The words that will stick with moviegoers the most were spoken by these two throughout the film, especially the William Ernest Henley poem for which the movie was named. The last two lines sum it up best: I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.

This is the second film I’ve seen Morgan in that deals with apartheid. The first was The Power of One, where he played a black inmate who coached an English kid trying to change the South African apartheid world he lives in post-World War II through boxing. Invictus, however, shows more about how one person can change his world and, in turn, change the world than The Power of One ever did. It was inspiring to watch Freeman play Mandela with such grace, humility and genuine care. He made Mandela much more relatable, instead of just an iconic figure in history.

Damon proved he’s more than an action and comedy movie kind of guy in his portrayal of Pienaar. He bulked up for the role, and it was more about his actions than his words that made his performance superb. He gives the audience a character to grow with as he reaches epiphanies about his changing world throughout the film. The soundtrack also helps move audiences through the various emotional moments of the movie.

I have no doubt this film will win over people all over the world. Too bad it hadn’t been released in 2007 when South Africa last won the Rugby World Cup or in 2011 when the country defends its title in the next Cup. Rugby stadiums all over South Africa and the world would’ve roared with praise, no doubt.

Invictus opens Dec. 11 in the U.S. No international release date was available at the time of publication. Visit the movie’s official Web site to view the trailer.