I really wish Hollywood would stagger the good movies throughout the year rather than cramming them all into the final month and a half. I’m going crazy trying to see all the films that interest me. I complain, but it certainly is fun.
I went out with George on Wednesday night to see INVICTUS the Clint Eastwood film about Nelson Mandala and the South African rugby team. This is a terrific film and Morgan Freeman turns in an award winning performance.
I was also struck by the delicate and understated touch that Eastwood brought to this film. There were plenty of opportunities for big grandiose scenes or scenes filled with bathos. Instead it was a series of small moments that added up to an elegant whole. Matt Damon’s role is small but pivotal as a man watching his world change, but deciding he wants to go with it.
Freeman plays Mandala as a man of great moral authority, but also a rather hard nosed politician. It also shows how a man can take a principled stand and have an effect. It’s hard for us to understand just how much moral courage it took for Mandala to don the colors and cap of the hated Springboks, a team that symbolized apartheid, but he did it in an effort to bring the people of his country together.
An aside — I wish President Obama had shown that kind of commitment to health reform and been willing to put his prestige on the line.
Back to the film — I know f**k all about rugby, but it looked rather wild and interesting. I’ve always like Australian Rules Football, and this looks just as rough, and you have the added peculiarity of The Scrum. Eastwood built the tension so carefully that I found myself becoming ever more committed to the team’s performance. The musical choices for this film also heightened the experience.
There is an amusing aside to this that I learned on Rachel Maddow’s show last night. The John Birch society has decided to rail against the film because Mandala was “a communist, terrorist thug.” Wow, talk about being unable to understand or accept that people can learn and change. Guess the Birchers don’t learn and change. And now the Republicans are starting to align themselves with these crazy fringers.
Last I looked South Africa was a capitalist society, and while it has severe problems, and has suffered with less than stirling leadership it is still doing a hell of a lot better than Zimbabwe, and I think some of that is due to Mandala’s efforts at reconciliation.
Last night I saw ME AND ORSON WELLS, and tonight THE FROG PRINCESS. Reviews will follow.
