Invictus
On the surface, “Invictus” is very different from what we associate with a Clint Eastwood film. It’s a historical drama about how newly-elected President Nelson Mandela brought South Africa together after decades of bad-blood between the races in the form of Apartheid by helping inspire the country’s rugby team to win the World Cup in 1995.
But reread that paragraph, and you might see how “Invictus” fits into Eastwood’s resume. In many of his best films, Eastwood likes to explore people whose pasts have led to guilt and tragedy for themselves and others. Sometimes they try to make amends, like in “Gran Torino” and “Million Dollar Baby,” but just as often, it leads to more heartbreak, like in “Mystic River” and “Unforgiven.”
With “Invictus,” he tells the story of a country that is hurting, and in need of a healing thing to hold onto. Mandella, as played with his customary strength and wisdom by Morgan Freeman, decides it is rugby, and enlists the team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon, in a simple role, but a commanding performance) to lead the struggling team to victory.
Too often as the World Cup gets closer do the cliches of American sports movies get in the way of appreciating the bigger picture, but Eastwood’s ever-present intelligence and thoughtfulness leads us to our own inspiring conclusions. It’s not classic Clint, but “Invictus” shows that he still has some tricks up his sleeve.
