Directed by Clint
Eastwood and starring a couple of big hitter stars in the lead roles, this story tells about a South African rugby team that was used as a public relations tool to help unite the country after the divisive violence of apartheid.
Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, struggling to bring his citizens together, who still insist on personally dividing themselves. Old staff who worked for de Klerk depart en masse when Mandela enters into office. Members of his black security team grudgingly make room for white security men. Now at his wit's end on what to do, he decides to take a back door approach.
The underdog rugby team, the Springboks led by Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), have little chance of going to the 1995 World Cup, until Mandela one day invites Francois to tea. They actually don't discuss much rugby, but Francois comes away with a feeling that Mandela thinks they can bring the nation together through its support of the team. The Springboks do some unorthodox things like going to black ghettos to teach kids the sport (the team is all white except for the lone black who gets much love from the kids).
Meanwhile, Mandela's closest staff think he is spending too much time on rugby and not enough on his "real" job, thus not understanding his strategy. They warn him he will be accused of going solo when he should rely on his cabinet.
The last hour or so becomes a little mainstream, devolving into a feel good underdog-makes-good sports story. Of course the underlying message of black + white is there, but it feels glossed over by a protracted, slow motion, will-they-get-the-final-goal sequence. When the team wins (and I don't think I am revealing a spoiler by saying so), the film shows shots of the audience around the country, four or five shots where black hugs white, white families cheering, black families cheering, people of different economic backgrounds cheering. Yes--we get it.
If this weren't based on real events you would think it was a wholly manufactured story. I'm sure a lot of the dialogue was made up, as it has a lot of humor that is just too hokey to be true.
The film is a little too easy going, not really showing what a struggle it's been to get to this point. I guess it assumes that we all know that already. Mandela and Francois as they are portrayed here both feel like rote characters instead of real individual people for me; although the actors do respect the characters and the message, I don't think either of them are meant to work with accents. While Freeman of course carries a dignity worthy of Mandela's story, I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to look past that it's "still" Morgan Freeman. Damon does better disappearing into Francois, he's a more internalized character, showing via his actions instead of saying things out loud. The composition of the scene where he takes his team to the prison where Mandela had been imprisoned is probably the most powerful scene and one where director Eastwood let the images tell the story.
The film is good looking and the action shots are good (although I don't follow sports so the suspense of seeing the action didn't do much for me). The soundtrack songs though are too obvious and forgettable. This is definitely a sentimental, feel-good picture, just not as drama-laden or powerful as I thought it would be.
Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, struggling to bring his citizens together, who still insist on personally dividing themselves. Old staff who worked for de Klerk depart en masse when Mandela enters into office. Members of his black security team grudgingly make room for white security men. Now at his wit's end on what to do, he decides to take a back door approach.
The underdog rugby team, the Springboks led by Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), have little chance of going to the 1995 World Cup, until Mandela one day invites Francois to tea. They actually don't discuss much rugby, but Francois comes away with a feeling that Mandela thinks they can bring the nation together through its support of the team. The Springboks do some unorthodox things like going to black ghettos to teach kids the sport (the team is all white except for the lone black who gets much love from the kids).
Meanwhile, Mandela's closest staff think he is spending too much time on rugby and not enough on his "real" job, thus not understanding his strategy. They warn him he will be accused of going solo when he should rely on his cabinet.
The last hour or so becomes a little mainstream, devolving into a feel good underdog-makes-good sports story. Of course the underlying message of black + white is there, but it feels glossed over by a protracted, slow motion, will-they-get-the-final-goal sequence. When the team wins (and I don't think I am revealing a spoiler by saying so), the film shows shots of the audience around the country, four or five shots where black hugs white, white families cheering, black families cheering, people of different economic backgrounds cheering. Yes--we get it.
If this weren't based on real events you would think it was a wholly manufactured story. I'm sure a lot of the dialogue was made up, as it has a lot of humor that is just too hokey to be true.
The film is a little too easy going, not really showing what a struggle it's been to get to this point. I guess it assumes that we all know that already. Mandela and Francois as they are portrayed here both feel like rote characters instead of real individual people for me; although the actors do respect the characters and the message, I don't think either of them are meant to work with accents. While Freeman of course carries a dignity worthy of Mandela's story, I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to look past that it's "still" Morgan Freeman. Damon does better disappearing into Francois, he's a more internalized character, showing via his actions instead of saying things out loud. The composition of the scene where he takes his team to the prison where Mandela had been imprisoned is probably the most powerful scene and one where director Eastwood let the images tell the story.
The film is good looking and the action shots are good (although I don't follow sports so the suspense of seeing the action didn't do much for me). The soundtrack songs though are too obvious and forgettable. This is definitely a sentimental, feel-good picture, just not as drama-laden or powerful as I thought it would be.
1 comment:
I liked the scene where the African child crept closer to the white policeman's vehicle to listen to the match. I think the Dutch airline buzzing the stadium at first was meant to add tension in a post 9/11 world. It's definitely a feel good movie.
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