Review: Invictus (8/10) - 2009: More Than A Rugby Game

When I discovered that there was going to be a movie about Nelson Mandela, I'm fairly sure there were probably only two candidates to play the role. Morgan Freeman, and Nelson Mandela himself (and after some research, even Mandela himself agrees with my statement). Without reading any reviews or what topics the movie would depict, I instantly thought of Apartheid and Mandela's time spent in jail.

Obviously these are the two things that almost synonymously depict South Africa during the era around his election, and something that would be hard-hitting in a way people may not have understood in the past.

Hard-hitting however, is taken to a completely different level when the concept of the game of rugby is introduced to the film that was shot entirely in Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. The screenplay was written by Anthony Peckham (a native of South Africa, who gave Eastwood a special insight to the story's era), and is based on John Carlin's book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela And The Game That Made A Nation."

The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), the captain of South Africa's rugby team, to help unite their country on a completely different level. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid, with the black South Africans usually routing against the Springboks and the white South Africans cherishing the team. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match. The story is told from the viewpoints of both Mandela and his backroom staff who helped him achieve a unified South Africa during his run as the first President elected in a fully representative democratic election.

Below is the trailer for the movie:



As the trailer depicts, the biggest shock for me can be said to be Matt Damon's performance. Matt has taken a lot of flack from people (myself included), not to mention every time I hear his name i think of the following clip from Team America.



I detested the Bourne movies and I don't care what people think or say, because I believe that it was a poorly acted, almost tedious James Bond rip-off, and time from my life that I cannot get back. I'll admit that the first film from the trilogy was decent, however the others were not. I think that criticism like this is actually unfair in hindsight after watching this film, as you cannot base whole perceptions of actors in one fell swoop.

We are all guilty of doing it and I guess that is what this business is all about: perceptions (See Ben Affleck's rise and fall, and eventual almost phoenix-like rebirth recently). We should also remember that Damon has won an Oscar for his role in co-writing Good Will Hunting (With Affleck), not to mention amassing a further 19 wins & 51 nominations throughout his career to date. The Talented Mr Ripley and The Departed are further examples of extremely, well-produced films.


Damon is simply phenomenal. Not only does he look like Francois Pienaar (above), but just like with Leonardo's Rhodesian accent in Blood Diamond, Damon is spot on with his South African accent. I literally could not believe that it was him due to his bulked up figure, bleached hair and acting talent.

Matt Damon made a visit to Francois Pienaar's home to ask Pienaar for assistance in preparing for his role. When Damon got to his house, Pienaar answered the door and for a few minutes they simply looked up at each other. Then Damon said "I look much bigger on camera." This broke the tension, and Pienaar prepared a gourmet dinner for Damon. Pienaar later claims he was impressed by Damon: "He's a great bloke. I was struck by his humility and his wicked sense of humor. He wanted to learn everything he could about me, my philosophy as a captain and what it was like for us in 1995. We also chatted about the game of rugby, what happens in training and about the technical aspects. We had a lot of fun" (IMDB).

Matt Damon informed Clint Eastwood about Francois Pienaar's distinct physique: "You know, this guy is huge!" Eastwood replied, "Hell, you worry about everything else. Let me worry about that." By structuring set-ups and camera angles, Eastwood was able to make the average-height Damon look about Pienaar's height (IMDB).

Furthering my rant on acting, Morgan Freeman, although the spitting image of Mandela, does not really manage to grasp the South African accent. Considering his voice is usually spoken in a way that could melt butter and send babies to sleep, and although his accent was slowed and accented to Mandela's, it just doesn't seem to work for me personally. His movements and mannerisms however, were almost spot on to Mandela's, thus restoring and saving his overall performance in my eyes.

Morgan Freeman, who has been a friend of Nelson Mandela for many years, prepared for his role as Mandela by watching some tapes of him to perfect his accent and rhythm of speaking. However, the most difficult part was Mandela's charisma, which could not be duplicated: "I wanted to avoid acting like him; I needed to BE him, and that was the biggest challenge. When you meet Mandela, you know you are in the presence of greatness, but it is something that just emanates from him. He moves people for the better; that is his calling in life. Some call it the Madiba magic. I'm not sure that magic can be explained" (IMDB).


Whilst Isaac (Zak) Feau'nati does not exactly like Jona Lomu in this particular photo, in the film his actions and aesthetics are extremely similar. He is a rugby union player for Bath Rugby in the Guinness Premiership and was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and has since retired in 2008.

Overall, the comparisons above proves that the Casting Director, Fiona Weir did a pretty good job in her selections overall whose other credits include several "Harry Potter" movies, as well as Brit-centric hits such as "Love Actually" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." I reckon I wouldn't give her any credit for Harry Potter... their casting is predominantly rubbish.

Personally I know of white South African's who have since had to flee their homes due to the increased violence shown towards them as a result of all the changes, so I think it would be very interesting to see their take on how this fantastic film unfolds.

Clint Eastwood is not only establishing himself as one of the top directors in the industry, but he is also challenging viewers perceptions. Arguably, he is increasingly concentrating on race and prejudice, not to mention challenging the norm through powerful visuals and intellectual dialogue on unusually emotional subjects. It can be argued that developing a story about an aging female boxer in the deep south would hardly bat an eyelid to anyone who has not watched. Changeling also challenged the parental nature in everyone's hearts and watching the dual-perspective films of Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, not to mention the race-fueled rush that was Gran Torino, justify my claims.

Eastwood has won 4 Oscars,(Million Dollar Baby x2, The Unforgiven x2), and amassed 104 other wins, including being nominated for a further 67 awards. I can only think that this will increase as the years go on and I am becoming a genuine fan of his work. However I still believe that there is improvement needed on his directing of some actors of who, in parts, are unrealistic in their dialogues. They seem as if they were simply chosen off the street (e.g. Bee Vang's performance as the boy in Gran Torino).

Phenomenal scenes such as "Good Luck Bokke" and the cinematography of the rugby matches (especially with New Zealand) will be ones that will leave you clinging to your seats as I did. Unless you are an avid rugby fan, you will, like me, most likely be unaware of the main events leading up to and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

I love rugby however Cyprus didn't establish any form of rugby team until 2003 with the Nicosia Barbarians, followed by my first rugby club in 2004, The Limassol Crusaders (the 2nd independent rugby club established on the island). The sport was not played on television and even to this day is extremely limited in its viewing. The sport has since picked up with the locals and finally progressed to a Cyprus national side in 2006, consisting of South Africans (both white and Greek origin), British Expatriates and Cypriots. I take great pride in scoring one of the first tries for my club as a 16 year old winger, and only wish I'd had the chance to play for the country (if I had not gone to University, who knows?).

Anyway, enough about my life and on with the film. A few criticisms however can be attributed to the crowds who seemed quite fake, not to mention a fair few geographical and factual errors according to IMDB (Click here for the link). For more trivia on the show, click here for more information.

I have rated this film 8/10 and I don't think that any minor errors ruin the quality of this production as I genuinely believe that it was an extremely enjoyable film that lasts 134 minutes. I recommend that you give it a watch if you are interested in learning about both Nelson Mandela and South Africa as the man himself gave his blessings on the film being developed. What more could you ask for? Let's just hope England can when the next Rugby World Cup!