Good but slightly overdone

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2011)

Anyone of a certain age who follows rugby knows the story. South Africa, rightly (imo) banned from international sport during the apartheid era, return shortly after the first democratic elections there and upset all the odds by winning the 1995 world cup. Plus they beat the overwhelming favourites, New Zealand, in the final. And most importantly, Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar turn the victory on the field into an inter-racial healing of some very deep wounds. It was (if you're of a certain age) one of those rare moments when sport stops being a glorious irrelevance and actually has some lasting and real meaning. It moved me and I dare say many others deeply, and even as a die-hard Welsh rugby fan (and they don't come much more die-hard than that) I've had a soft spot for the Boks ever since.
With a true story like that it would be hard for a director of Eastwood's quality to go wrong. And for the most part Invictus gets it right. The lingering racial tension, for instance between the white and black bodyguards, is well captured, as is the slow process of the Boks realising they're more than just a rugby team. I'd join many others in praising Morgan Freeman's Mandela, not simply as a statesmanlike saint but with just enough of a hint of the neglect of more conventional affairs of state which is starting to appear in more critical commentaries on his presidency. And I'd be more positive than some about Matt Damon's portrayal of Francois Pienaar. I had the honour of meeting Pienaar during the following world cup here in Wales, and his own description then of how he felt in 1995 - that he became a national symbol of reunion without asking for it, knowing how to cope with it or even realising it was happening until near the end - pretty much sums up what we see on screen.
Yet for all that there are moments when the film applies the pathos too thickly. Too many scenes are spoilt by schmaltzy backing music that would be better suited to a TV miniseries. The scene on Robben Island is perhaps overlong, and the point - that Pienaar is starting to understand what Mandela went through and why - doesn't need rammed home with the clumsy appearance of a ghostly Mandela breaking rocks. And the scene near the end with the white cops and the black child outside the final strains credulity: apartheid-era bigotry instantly changed into inter-racial unity by radio commentary on a Joel Stransky drop goal. Maybe Eastwood felt the need to do this for the benefit of those who weren't so familiar with what actually happened. But if you do know what happened, it's all a bit unnecessary: the story should speak for itself.
On balance, though, these are minor criticisms. Invictus successfully weaves together sporting, racial and political themes in an unusual and powerful way. If it sometimes lacks subtlety then you might say the reality it depicts was anything but subtle. Those of us who remember can relive a moment we won't quickly forget. Those who don't can watch this and perhaps understand why.