Invictus

It's not really a controversial opinion to think that Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest political leaders who has ever lived. That's what I think, and being a rugby fan too I was very excited about this film. Mandela came into power in the early 1990s as the head of a country struggling to move itself into a modern era and throw off a recent racist past. Mandela put aside any desire to get revenge on those who had held him in prison and sought to work for a brighter future for South Africa, even when it meant fighting against friends within his own organisation. This was optimised by his refusal to take away the colours and identity of the South African Rugby Union team, which had for years been seen to represent apartheid in the nation.

This is all inspirational stuff, the problem is that this isn't a very filmable story, or if it is filmable then it should be much much shorter. There are only so many times that a film about the aftermath of apartheid needs to tell us that the black and white populations of South Africa don't trust each other very much. Towards the start of the film there is an unfathomably long scene (and then a whole series of scenes) in which we see Mandela's security detail (back and white) not getting along but being forced to work together. Then there are several scenes in which some black people tell us that they don't like the Springboks. Then someone refuses to wear a Springboks shirt, then there is a vote to change the name and colours of the Springboks etc... I think I got it the first time - the Springboks are unpopular.

In short, I was disappointed to discover that I was bored. It isn't enough to have an inspirational story to tell, you have to tell it in a way that's engaging and keeps me awake. Watching 'Invictus' was kind of like reading a dull history book that hadn't been edited properly and kept repeating important information. The film was almost too true to history, the world cup final of 1995 was not a classic and consisted entirely of kicks. The South Africans won it in extra time by running down the clock in a scrum - this is depicted here, and for all the close up shots of big fat men straining against each other (probably meant to represent South Africa's struggle out of the dark ages of its recent past or some such) it is distinctly undramatic.

If it wasn't for the extra-ordinary performances of both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon (they are both excellent) I think I would have been severely disappointed. It really doesn't need to win any Oscars.