Things of Which I May Not Speak

There is a lot I could say about Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Invictus.

There are two good films within Invictus—a solid sports movie and an inspiring Mandela biopic. Unfortunately, it is neither one. One more time, Eastwood doesn’t fail to disappoint. Unfortunately, we won’t see another Mandela movie for a while and this was probably Morgan Freeman’s only shot at the part. He deserved better.

For once in a sports movie, I missed all the cliches. The interpersonal drama in the team. The folks back home that I identify with. The loose cannon coach or captain. Something, anything to care about. It’s not enough to tell me that this game was important to a nation, you have to show me. When the result is inevitable, you can’t drag the final game for 25 minutes without a personal story to care about.

And there’s a lot of stuff I want to say about how the movie handle’s the issue of race and minority appeasement. But maybe another time.