Movie Review: Invictus
The fate of South Africa rests in the hands of the newly elected President Nelson Mandela and a makeshift group of South African national rugby athletes who feel as discouraged as the country does. Mandela leads the apartheid-torn country and the rugby team to a victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, inspiring the people and raising the country up from its painful past.
This true story of South Africa is inspiring. The figures of Mandela (Morgan Freeman) and the team leader François Pienaar (Matt Damon) create a fascinating, uplifting story that is well worth watching. Freeman’s casting as Mandela is a no brainer. Freeman’s skill as an actor portraying the admirable Mandela, and Freeman’s innate dignity and presence, provides Mandela’s character with the vivid life and spirit needed in the film. Damon does fine work here, matching Freeman in intensity and skill, and garnering them Oscar nominations that year. Eastwood is a skilled director and does right by the story taken to the screen. The supporting cast is strong, the screenplay is well written, overall a very good film with excellent leading performances. If you haven’t seen it yet, Invictus is a film you should add to your must see list.
2009. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Julian Lewis Jones, Marguerite Wheatley, Leleti Khumalo, and Patrick Lyster.
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