80% of the usual Eastwood fare

Rating: 7/10 (11 December 2009)

Clint Eastwood's movies have always had the ability to take us into another time and space. And he does so in Invictus as well. But certainly not as well as in Unforgiven and in Changeling or any of his other great movies.
What he does do well here is to remind us of the power of the human spirit in the person of Nelson Mandela. Though the movie is primarily about South Africa's challenge in winning the rugby World Cup against insurmountable odds, I found the story of Mandela's emergence from prison to prominence and power equally as fascinating. His desire to forgive his oppressors and to captain his country gives the story of a half-baked rugby team some real meat.
Freeman's accent was certainly questionable but that of Matt Damon's was nearly flawless.
Eastwood didn't give us emotional scenes for their own sake, he allowed us to witness history recreated and the emotions came from its realism.
In spite of the movie's optimism, there was still an underlying unrest and distrust in the country. The Afrikaaners did not surrender power easily. Hundreds of years of minority rule plied on the backs of the indigenous Africans spoiled the children and grandchildren of the long-ruling Dutch into indecency. The initial discomfort between the white and black Presidential Security Detail well demonstrates that.
Kudos to Eastwood for allowing us to once again look into a culture not our own and enriching us in the process.