Trailer Tuesday: Invictus
For the second time in a year South Africa is the focal point for a highly anticipated international film. First there was cynical sci-fi flick, District 9. Now there's the inspiring true story - and sports drama - Invictus.
Known as The Human Factor while shooting in Cape Town, Invictus is based on the book
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, by John Carlin. It tells the story of how newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela - the first black man to hold the post - joined forces with Francois Pienaar, the captain of South Africa’s rugby team (the Springboks), to help unite their still bitter, racially divided country through the universal language of sport. Mandela rallies Pienaar and his underdog team as they accept the massive challenge of winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup IN South Africa.
Now Invictus is high pedigree stuff. The film is directed by multi-Oscar winning Clint Eastwood, who has had massive success, critically and commercially, since making the move from acting to directing. Some of Eastwood's most notable efforts include Flags of Our Fathers, Mystic River, Gran Torino and his Best Picture winners, western Unforgiven and boxing drama Million Dollar Baby.
Then there's the cast of Invictus, toplined by Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Pienaar. When it comes to fantasy casting Freeman has always been my first choice for Madiba, because, well, he completely looks the part (more so than Sidney Poitier). Freeman's accent sounds a bit inconsistent in the Invictus trailer, however, but trailers can be misleading, so we'll have to wait until the film's release to truly assess his portrayal of a beloved world icon.
I was always going to more skeptical of Matt Damon playing a huge Afrikaans rugby player, but so far I'm impressed by his portrayal of Pienaar. Damon has bulked up substantially to play the former Springbok captain and his accent is actually pretty convincing - at least on a par with Leonardo DiCaprio's vocal work in Blood Diamond.
Unsurprisingly, given the high profile of those involved in Invictus, as well as the Academy's history of love for Eastwood as a director, Invictus is already being touted as a potential Oscar favourite. All the ingredients are there after all: inspiring crowd-pleaser, based on true story, sport-centred with underdog focus, depicts real life heroes, tackles big social issue of racism. Invictus IS Oscar bait!
This said, I wouldn't start wildly waving the South African flag just yet. I'm still of the opinion (and perhaps I'm in the minority here) that a film looking at rugby is an odd choice for an American filmmaker. I don't know if the film will capture the imagination of the public in nations where the sport isn't widely played, or even understood. And who knows, perhaps Invictus looks like too much of a sure-bet come Awards season? Dramas that centre on real life tales of how sport helps combat racism and heal communities, are a dime-a-dozen, and as a result can be pretty predictable - instantly turning off critics.
One thing is certain though and that's how successful Invictus will be in South Africa. I expect the film will be a massive hit in local cinemas this festive season, as people rush to nostalgically relive one of our nation's great moments of glory.
Invictus opens in the United States, AND South Africa, in just over a month's time, on 11 December.
Comments
I can't really hear the trailer at work (thanks for embedding it by the way) but Morgan Freeman sounds quite good and I heard Matt Damon say "Taarmes have changed peepul" and that sounded quite authentic.
I thought Gran Torino was superb and really handled the theme of racism and prejudice well.
Also, ESPN was built on late-night airings of rugby matches in the early days of the network, so it's not such a stretch to see an American film come out about rugby. Plus, it's close enough to American football AND a different sport that hasn't had a lot of movies made about it that it should hold interest.
G
I agree - sports films seem to be universally interesting. I think this one will do well in the States and elsewhere.
MJenks, I think the thing with South African accents is that generally you don't hear them in big international movies very often. They're so unusual that when they do pop up in a movie they sound odd. This is true whether you have a South African actor (District 9) or an American playing a South African (Blood Diamond). If you know the accent though, and you're traveling, South African tourists are as easy to identify as Americans, Brits and Aussies. And interesting to hear about rugby on the ESPN. I didn't know that.
G, Leo's character was supposed to be Zimbabwean born, but educated in South Africa and a former soldier within the SA military as well (after his family was murdered). Speaking as someone whose father, and extended family, is Zimbabwean, his accent was waaaaay more Saffer than Zimbo. The Zimbabwean white accent is more English colonial with minimal Afrikaans flattening.