Invictus

In 1995 Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) was serving his first term as president for post apartheid South Africa. With a country torn and what appeared to be insurmountable problems on his shoulders, Mandela saw Rugby as a way to tie the nation together, in particular the rugby World Cup. On several occasions with gentle guidance and compassion Mandela would meet with the team captain for South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), in an effort to support the team and unite the nation in what was a politically exciting and difficult time.invictus
Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film takes on a classic approach to cinematography without fancy moves and edits and focuses more on drama and humanities rather than action and what could be misconstrued as a sports film. Also a heavy hitter in the acting department this weekend, both Freeman and Damon do justice to the individuals they are portraying, although perhaps a little more time could have been spent in the accent coaching. And, in at least one point perhaps Eastwood could have chosen better music to underscore a fairly dramatic point instead of a mediocre pop song that stands out like a sore thumb in what would otherwise be a decent film. All this aside, the film serves as a well produced an interesting recent history lesson. Perhaps good as a matinee, Invictus is rated PG-13.