Invictus

Now here’s an oddity. An American film about rugby? Of course, Invictus is a lot more than that, telling the story of how a single rugby game changed the course of South Africa for ever and put an end to the memories of apartheid regime once and for all. Or at least, that’s what Hollywood and director Clint Eastwood would have you believe. For though this is a worthy subject for Eastwood to tackle, it’s far too romanticised to be any sort of cinematic reference point. The film starts in 1990 with Nelson Mandela’s (Morgan Freeman) release from prison and his subsequent effort’s to close the racial divide in the country over the subsequent years leading up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Eastwood’s film is mainly about the Rugby though, in which Mandela believes a triumph for his country will send a message of unity to it’s 43 million residents. Any real analysis of Mandela is left to one side and the film’s study of apartheid is left to some token character sound bites and some scenes of cheese that will leave you squirming in your seat. As for the casting, Freeman is excellent as Mandela, nailing mannerism and voice to perfection (so much so that Mandela’s personal assistant couldn’t tell the difference when hearing both men vocally). Matt Damon, playing South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar, is badly mis-cast though. Sounding or looking nothing like Pienaar, Damon just cannot convey the gravitas that Pienaar bough. This is nothing against Damon, but this is clearly a bit of studio casting. So, forgetting all the above, can the film just be viewed as entertainment? It probably can and at least a few moments, especially viewing Mandela’s prison cell, will urge you to study Mandela’s / South Africa ’s history further. In addition, you could also play a game of seeing how many of the numerous inaccuracies in the film you can spot. I’ll start with the English fans in the crowd waving the Union Jack(!) when England are playing. Really….

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
It’s heart is obviously in the right place, but even viewing this as an interpretation of events, as opposed to a serious analysis, it still drops the ball yards from the try line. Rating: 4/10.