Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
Directed by Clint Eastwood.
***1/2
I'll start with my quibbles. The movie made me wish I'd brushed up on my knowledge of Nelson Mandela and the rules of rugby beforehand.
This is beyond a typical sports movie. Nelson Mandela is a triumphant figure, and he deserves no less than Morgan Freeman to portray him, and he does so with depth and layers. Everything about this project says it should drown in cliches, and yet it doesn't. The South African scenery, the old neighborhoods, the rugby arena, the black and white bodyguards trying to work together, all lend complimentary details to the story.
It is fortunate that this movie isn't so much about rugby as it is Pres. Mandela's attempts to unify his nation. I get the feeling a lot of South African history was whitewashed to streamline the story. Maybe its lack of box-office success is due to The Blind Side absorbing the sports-drama audience (or being about the much more American sport of football) but this deserves an audience in its own right.
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