Invictus (Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon) — Morgan Freeman was destined to play Nelson Mandela. In Invictus, he captures Mandela’s indomitable spirit, the cadence of his speech, and his remarkable optimism. Matt Damon was not destined to play Francois Pieneer, the captain of the South African national rugby team. Both give stellar performances in this film covering the four years between Mandela’s release from prison and the World Cup quest of the South African team in 1995. The movie is forced to truncate time so it seems a little too tidy. But the rugby action is intense, and Mandela’s passion for both his country and his team makes the movie compelling.
Damon bulked up for the film, using his Jason Bourne character experience to create tension while commanding the screen. Damon is willing to do anything for a role whether it’s gaining weight (The Informant), losing weight (Courage Under Fire), doing his own stunts (The Bourne trilogy) or going into intense training. Directed by Clint Eastwood, this is the fourth recent end-of-year Oscar hopeful film I can remember from the Academy Award winning director (Best Picture Million Dollar Baby, The Changeling and Grand Torino were the others). Eastwood is deft with character studies, and Invictus is best when it sticks to giving us a glimpse into Mandela. If this film suffers, it is from Eastwood’s apparent uncertainty of whether he wanted to focus on Mandela’s story or that of the Springbok rugby team led by Pieneer. The film gets its name from a short poem by Englishman William Ernest Henley, which served as inspiration for Mandela in prison and Pieneer in the film. That poem ends with the famous stanzas: “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” The film is well worth your time and money.