Invictus (film)

Invictus
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clint Eastwood
Produced by	Clint Eastwood Lori McCreary Robert Lorenz Mace Neufeld Morgan Freeman
Screenplay by	Steven Lobkovich
Based on	Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation' by John Carlin
Starring	Morgan Freeman Matt Damon
Music by	Kyle Eastwood Michael Stevens Overtone
Cinematography	Tom Stern
Editing by	Joel Cox Gary D. Roach
Studio	Spyglass Entertainment Revelations Entertainment Malpaso Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	December 11, 2009 (2009-12-11)
Running time	134 minutes
Country	South Africa
Language	English Afrikaans Maori
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$122,233,971

Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted in that country following the dismantling of apartheid. Freeman and Damon play, respectively, South African President Nelson Mandela and François Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby union team the Springboks. Invictus was released in the United States on December 11, 2009. The title Invictus may be translated from the Latin as "undefeated" or "unconquered", and is the title of a poem by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).

Plot

After 27 years in jail, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is released in 1990 and subsequently elected President of South Africa. His immediate challenge is "balancing black aspirations with white fears", as racial tensions from the apartheid era have not completely disappeared.

While Mandela attempts to tackle the country's largest problems—crime and unemployment, among many others—he attends a game of the Springboks, the country's rugby union team. Mandela recognizes that the blacks in the stadium cheer against their home squad, as the Springboks represent prejudice and apartheid in their minds. Mandela remarks that he did the same while imprisoned on Robben Island. Knowing that South Africa is set to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in one year's time, Mandela convinces a meeting of the newly-black-dominated South African Sports Committee to support the Springboks. He then meets with the captain of the Springboks rugby team, François Pienaar (Matt Damon), and implies that a Springboks victory in the World Cup will unite and inspire the nation. Mandela also shares with Pienaar a poem, "Invictus", that had inspired him during his time in prison.

Pienaar and his teammates train. Many South Africans, both white and black, doubt that rugby will unite a nation torn apart by some 50 years of racial tensions. For many non-whites, especially the radicals, the Springboks symbolised white supremacy. However, both Mandela and Pienaar stand firmly behind their theory that the game can successfully unite the country.

Things begin to change, however, as the players interact with the locals. During the opening games, support for the Springboks begins to grow among the non-white population. By the second game, citizens of all races attend to support the Springboks and Mandela's efforts.

The Springboks surpass all expectations and qualify for the final match against New Zealand All Blacks—the most successful rugby team in the world then and now. Prior to the game, the Springbok team visits Robben Island, where Mandela spent 27 years in jail. Pienaar mentions his amazement that Mandela "could spend thirty years in a tiny cell, and come out ready to forgive the people who put [him] there".

Supported by a large home crowd of both whites and blacks, Pienaar motivates his team. The Springboks win the match on a last-minute long drop-kick from fly-half Joel Stransky (Scott Eastwood), with a score of 15–12. Mandela and Pienaar meet on the field together to celebrate the improbable and unexpected victory. Mandela's car is then seen driving away in the traffic-jammed streets leaving the stadium. As Mandela watches the South Africans celebrating together in the car, Morgan Freeman's voice is heard reciting the poem, "Invictus".

Cast

• Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela
• Matt Damon as François Pienaar, Springbok team captain
• Adjoa Andoh as Brenda Mazikubo, Mandela's Chief of Staff
• Tony Kgoroge as Jason Tshabalala
• Julian Lewis Jones as Etienne Feyder
• Patrick Mofokeng as Linga Moonsamy
• Matt Stern as Hendrick Booyens
• Marguerite Wheatley as Nerine Winter
• Leleti Khumalo as Mary
• McNiel Hendriks as Chester Williams, the only black player in the Springbok team
• Scott Eastwood as Joel Stransky
• Zak Feaunati as Jonah Lomu
• Grant L. Roberts as Ruben Kruger
• Rolf E. Fitschen as Naka Drotske
• Vaughn Thompson as Rudolph Straeuli
• Charl Engelbrecht as Garry Pagel
• Graham Lindemann as Kobus Wiese
• Sean Cameron Michael as Springbok Equipment Manager

Production

The film is based on the book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, by John Carlin. The filmmakers met with Carlin for a week in his Barcelona home, discussing how to transform the book into a screenplay. Morgan Freeman was the first actor to be cast, as Mandela. Matt Damon was then cast as team captain Pienaar, despite being significantly smaller than him and much smaller than members of the current Springbok squad. He was given intensive coaching by Chester Williams, another star of the 1995 team, at the Gardens Rugby League Club. Filming began in March 2009 in Cape Town. "In terms of stature and stars, this certainly is one of the biggest films ever to be made in South Africa," said Laurence Mitchell, the head of the Cape Film Commission. On March 18, 2009, Scott Eastwood was cast as flyhalf Joel Stransky (whose drop goal provided the Springboks' winning margin in the 1995 final). Over Christmas 2008, auditions had taken place in London to try to find a well-known British actor to play Pienaar's father, but in March it was decided to cast a lesser-known South African actor instead. The ex-Bath Rugby player Zak Feaunati was cast as New Zealand player Jonah Lomu. Primary filming in South Africa was completed in May 2009. Grant L. Roberts was cast as Ruben Kruger, who was the Springboks' other starting flanker in 1995.

Reception

Critical

Invictus was met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 76% of critics (and 87% of the Top Critics) have given the film a positive review based on 218 reviews, with an average score of 6.6/10. The critical consensus is: "Delivered with typically stately precision from director Clint Eastwood, Invictus may not be rousing enough for some viewers, but Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman inhabit their real-life characters with admirable conviction."

Critic David Ansen wrote:

Anthony Peckham's sturdy, functional screenplay, based on John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy, can be a bit on the nose (and the message songs Eastwood adds are overkill). Yet the lapses fade in the face of such a soul-stirring story — one that would be hard to believe if it were fiction. The wonder of Invictus is that it actually went down this way.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars and wrote:

It is a very good film. It has moments evoking great emotion, as when the black and white members of the presidential security detail (hard-line ANC activists and Afrikaner cops) agree with excruciating difficulty to serve together. And when Damon's character — François Pienaar, as the team captain — is shown the cell where Mandela was held for those long years on Robben Island. My wife, Chaz, and I were taken to the island early one morning by Ahmed Kathrada, one of Mandela's fellow prisoners, and yes, the movie shows his very cell, with the thin blankets on the floor. You regard that cell and you think, here a great man waited in faith for his rendezvous with history.

Shave Magazine's Jake Tomlinson wrote:

Eastwood's film shows how sport can unify people, a straightforward and moving message that leaves audiences cheering. The sports, accurate portrayal and the solid storyline earn this movie a manliness rating of 3/5. However, the entertainment value, historical accuracy and strong message this movie delivers earn it an overall rating of 4.5 stars. Definitely, worth seeing.

Variety's Todd McCarthy wrote:

Inspirational on the face of it, Clint Eastwood's film has a predictable trajectory, but every scene brims with surprising details that accumulate into a rich fabric of history, cultural impressions and emotion.

Box office

The film opened at #3 with US$8,611,147 behind The Princess and the Frog and The Blind Side. Currently, its worldwide total stands at US$122,233,971, with US$37.7 million in North America.

People involved

Don Beck who had helped the rugby team to be successful in 1995 found the film faithful to the true story: “I thought it was steady and balanced.”

Accolades

Academy Awards

• Best Actor – Morgan Freeman (nominated)
• Best Supporting Actor – Matt Damon (nominated)

Broadcast Film Critics' Association Awards (2010)

The film was nominated for four awards from the Broadcast Film Critics' Association in the following categories:

• Best Film
• Best Director – Clint Eastwood
• Best Actor – Morgan Freeman
• Best Supporting Actor – Matt Damon

Cesar Awards

• Cesar Award for Best Foreign Film

ESPY Awards

• Best Sports Movie

Golden Globes (2010)

The film was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards in the following categories:

• Best Actor in a Leading Role – Motion Picture Drama – Morgan Freeman
• Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture – Matt Damon
• Best Director – Motion Picture – Clint Eastwood

NAACP Image Awards

• Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture – Morgan Freeman (Won)

National Board of Review (2009)

The film was nominated for two awards from the National Board of Review in the following categories:

• Freedom of Expression Award – (Won)
• NBR Award for Best Director – Clint Eastwood (Won)
• NBR Award for Best Actor – Morgan Freeman (Won: tied with George Clooney for Up In The Air)

Screen Actors' Guild (2010)

The film was nominated for two awards from the Screen Actors' Guild in the following categories:

• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role – Morgan Freeman
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Matt Damon

WAFCA Award (2009)

The film was nominated for two awards from the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association awards in the following categories:

• Best Actor – Morgan Freeman
• Best Director – Clint Eastwood

Soundtrack listing

1. "9000 days" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
2. "Invictus Theme" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
3. "Colorblind" – Overtone
4. "Siyalinda" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
5. "World in Union 95" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
6. "Madiba's theme" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
7. "Hamba Nathi" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
8. "Thanda" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
9. "Shosholoza" – Overtone with Yollande Nortjie
10. "Inkathi" – Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens

Home media release

The film was released on May 18, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Special features include

• Matt Damon Plays Rugby
• Invictus music trailer

The Blu-ray release included a digital copy and additional special features:

• Vision, Courage and Honor: Clint Eastwood and the Power of a True Story
• Mandela Meets Morgan
• The Eastwood Factor documentary excerpts
• Picture in Picture exploration with cast, crew and the real people who lived this true story

See also

• Politics and sport
• List of American films of 2009

External links

• Official website
• Invictus at the Internet Movie Database
• Invictus at AllRovi
• Invictus at Box Office Mojo
• Invictus at Rotten Tomatoes