Clint Eastwood has once again a masterpiece and it may be one of his best. “Invictus,” based off of the novel “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation” by John Carlin and titled after the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, (a poem reported to have given Mandela strength while he was in jail for 27 years), may have done something no other movie ever has: finally made a film worthy of a man with the stature of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela is played marvelously by Morgan Freeman, who was Mandela’s personal choice to play him, and who looks remarkably similar to him. Even though Freeman may not have the greatest accent, he does a commendable job of imitating Mandela’s soft, delicate and unique voice (which is very difficult to duplicate).
The other main character is Francois Pienaar, played by the well-built Matt Damon, who beefed up almost as much as Barry Bonds for the role. Pienaar plays a pivotal role in the movie because he is the captain of the South African rugby team (nicknamed the Springboks), who are hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It is getting pretty redundant how reliable an actor Matt Damon is. Movie after movie, the guy shines. This one is no different. He is truly one of the greatest actors of this decade.
“Invictus” starts off with Mandela getting out of Robben Island prison, immediately trying to stop the apartheid in South Africa. He wins the 1994 presidential election, becoming the first black president in the country’s history. He soon realizes, however, that uniting a country full of crime, unemployment and racism may be more difficult than he anticipated. He attends a South African rugby match and is saddened that the black South Africans are cheering against the home squad (because to them the team is the epitome of the apartheid). Mandela then realizes that if the team succeeds, he can unite the nation. He calls upon Pienaar for help. When the two meet, Mandela never really spells out what he wants from Pienaar, but Pienaar understands that if the team succeeds, it has the possibility of uniting them all.
The team starts their training, but the players resent the fact that they have even more added pressure: They have single-handedly taken the pressure of the nation on their backs by hosting the Rugby World Cup, but now they also have the burden of trying to unite the nation. Even Mandela is feeling the heat, criticized by his aides for asking too much from the team. In the end, a thrilling championship between powerhouse New Zealand and the underdog South African side provides a fantastic ending to a fantastic movie.
One of the impressive things about this film is that it isn’t just a straight-up biopic on Nelson Mandela. Eastwood does a superb job of blending together Mandela’s story line and Pienaar’s. One of the best parts of the movie occurs when Damon’s character visits the actual cell Mandela stayed in during his imprisonment. Another cool thing was that they shot some of the film in the actual stadiums used for the real 1995 Rugby World Cup. These stadiums have been improved and will also be used in the 2010 Fifa World Cup. “Invictus” truly lives up to the hype. Don’t be surprised if it contends for an Oscar.