INVICTUS

INVICTUS

It’s a poem by William Ernest Henley, and a really good movie. The film has few special effects, while its heart hangs on the script and performances by its actors, especially Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. At the very beginning, we are shown how South Africa is split apart from seeing the lush rugby field starring the muscular white players with good uniforms, right next to a dirt field with thin black soccer players in rags.

It’s clear that Nelson Mandela wants to integrate the white Afrikaner tribe into his vision of South Africa as a living, prosperous nation, without the bloodbath that characterized the transformation of Rhodesia into Zimbabwe. He starts this process from the very beginning of his accession to the presidency by keeping some of the old bodyguards from DeKlerk before him, much to the dismay of his own people. There is understandable resistance from the blacks, since many of them bled and died (and sometimes killed) to bring Mandela out of prison. However, that part is played down, save for a brief glance at the figure of Winnie Mandela in a newsreel clip. She is not mentioned by name and alluded to briefly only once, but it’s clear that not all blacks are behind Mandela’s attempt to build a country on forgiveness.

In the movie, of course, there is some disbelief on both sides that he really means it. Matt Damon is Francois Pienaar, the jock captain of the Springboks. At the beginning of the movie, they suck and they know it. Perhaps they’ve been pampered pets of the government for just a little too long.

However, Mandela’s enthusiasm and clear encouragement of the team slowly begins a great shift. Damon as Francois reflects the changes on the Afrikaner side, though no one single figure appears to do so on the black side. In fact, except for Mandela, the attitude of the whites is, as ever, far more important. Freeman in magnificent in his role, though, spending his health and strength to keep his beloved country from being overwhelmed with hate and blood. Matt Damon is also excellent. As an athlete, Francois shows his slow change towards understanding through his body. The scene where he stands, sits, and turns around in Mandela’s old prison cell literally needs no words.

The rugby games are well done (as far as someone like myself can tell), and realistically depicted (no doubt from actual game films). Commentary might have been helpful to those of us who aren’t sure why Matt Damon is kicking and how the team is scoring. I was interested to see that the old Statue of Liberty play in apparently legal in the game, while the strategy used to slow the Maori From Hell is probably the only one that will really work on someone with his size and ability.

If there is one flaw in the movie, it’s in the treatment of time. It makes sense that it would take five years (I think it did, anyway) to unify the country to any degree behind a largely white rugby team. The set of scenelets between the cops and the skinny black kid during the championship game is priceless, too. However, there is some blurring of dates that made me wonder exactly what was happening when. The World Cup 1995 flag certainly helped at the end, but I wish there had more of that through the movie.

I strongly recommend this movie. It’s quite low on special effects, but is so high in script and acting that it doesn’t need any. I love seeing Morgan Freeman in anything, and am glad he put together this film (he’s the main producer) with Eastwood’s directorial expertise. It was an unexpected pleasure to see Matt Damon reach so deeply into his role. There are no real female roles in this movie, save for the cheerful and concerned housemaid. It would have been interesting to see more of Winnie Mandela, as I am quite certain she was the center of black opposition to Afrikaner integration.

It’s still good, though. Don’t let it get lost in the shuffle of spectacular events at the theater.