REVIEW: INVICTUS
IF there ever was a true story destined to fall into the clutches of Hollywood film makers, INVICTUS (12A) is it.
In the lead-up to Nelson Mandela's 20th anniversary of freedom this month, director Clint Eastwood's film dips into Mandela's early days in office in 1994, having won his place in the first ever multi racial election in South Africa.
In a desperately disparate country, Mandela's pledge to eradicate apartheid and win the support of angry dissenters was superlatively ambitious to some and plainly naïve to others.
But - and here's the Hollywood bit - as the country teeters on the brink of implosion, Mandela finds the answer in an unlikely place: the rugby pitch. Yes, the universally appealing, unifying language of sport.
Morgan Freeman plays Mandela, a true pro now at earnest, stoic types, and it's a role that suits him perfectly. Matt Damon is fantastic as the respected Francois Pienaar, team captain of South Africa's national rugby team the Springboks.
The story centres on the Mandela's strategic transformation of the Springboks from a symbol of white nationalism to his dream of a 'rainbow nation'. Utterly inspirational, but sadly over-stuffed with unsubtle symbolism at the end of the film - from the once racist team captain's mum celebrating the Springbok's victory with her black maid to the parting image of overlapping black and white hands holding up the World Cup.
It's a shame, as it's a powerful and emotive story not in lacking drama that should and could speak for itself. - PEGGY NUTTALL
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