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Invictus

Posted by robert on May 9, 2011

The profound poignancy of the real story of Nelson Mandela and the quest for racial reconciliation in South Africa is sufficient to excuse the over-the-top cheesiness that occasionally surfaces in Invictus.  Let’s hope that the movie that truly captures that epic story has not yet been made, but if it takes a Matt Damon sports themed vehicle to expose new generations to the all too recent history of apartheid South Africa, so be it.

Playing team captain Francois Pienaar, Damon is more believable as a rugby player than a South African, but his accent is close enough not to be distracting.  Morgan Freeman lives up to the expectations that had long cast him as “born to play” Mandela.  The rugby story, the window into the greater drama of injustice and redemption, often seems like an overreaching fairy tale, but in fact stays true to the outcomes of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.  The film has a couple of moments of melodrama that seem a bit like cheap shots, and absent much reference to the broader context, Mandela appears obsessed with rugby to the exclusion of other presidential concerns.

Reconciliation among black and white members of Mandela’s security detail, Mandela’s insistence on retaining the apartheid-era name of the national rugby team, and Pienaar’s visit to Mandela’s jail cell are among the elements that prompt the viewer’s wonderment and ultimately awe, at the transformative influence of a man with the humility to use his power for forgiveness and reconciliation rather than vengeance of one of the great injustices of the twentieth century.

All this adds up to a compelling story and a heart-warming film, even if it only leaves you wanting to know more about Nelson Mandela and the story of post-apartheid South Africa.

The Verdict:

Comments on this post | Published in Biopic, Drama

In the Loop

Posted by robert on December 27, 2010

Too soon? In the Loop (2009) didn’t wait for the cessation of combat operations in Iraq to venture a comedy about the War’s origins, and the official end of the War last August does little to lighten the weight of the film’s subject.  But like Robert Altman’s MASH (1970), a shift in setting creates enough emotional distance for viewers to laugh at the tragically farcical lead-up to America’s latest imperial foray.  For its American audience anyway, In the Loop’s change in vantage point, is two-fold; first, the film primarily follows a British cabinet minister, and second, when the plot reaches American soil, it features the political maneuverings of low-level State Department staffers.  Filtered through the lens of political turf battles and public relations mishaps, over this film’s 106 minute runtime, comedy trumps tragedy.

Tom Hollander plays the equally earnest and incompetent Minister for International Development, Simon Foster, whose bumbling sound bites make him the pawn of both hawks and doves in the US State Department.  Foster’s new press aide, Toby Wright (Chris Addison), does little to keep his boss from running afoul of Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), the Rahm-tongued operative representing No. 10 Downing St., as Foster first calls war “unforeseeable,” only to clarify that the UK may have to “climb the mountain of conflict.”  Foster can’t keep his foot out of his mouth, despite himself, as he tries to repair a constituent’s collapsing retaining wall and sway the UN’s vote on war.

You’ll recognize a few faces in the supporting cast, including James Gandolfini as a dovish General, Zach Woods, The Office’s Gabe, as a State Department sycophant, and Anna Chlumsky, who you may not have seen since My Girl (1991), or My Girl 2 (1994) if you are less fortunate.  All deliver solid performances, but Hollander and Capaldi stand out.

In the Loop scores some easy laughs through fish out of water mishaps, which are laughs nonetheless, but is at its best with snappy (or hilariously sloppy) dialogue (Disclaimer: if you are sensitive to obscenity-laced tirades you should avoid this film). Since we know how this story ends, the drama lies seeing who will retain their careers, pride, and/or their integrity through the political one-upmanship of operatives on either side of the Atlantic.  You can’t see this laugh out loud movie too soon.

The Verdict:

Comments on this post | Published in Comedy