Here's an interesting bit of trivia for you: American actor Morgan Freeman has been trying to get a biographical movie about South Africa's Nelson Mandela made for years. Studios have said no for just as many years. Motion pictures are expensive to make, and Freeman doesn't have the cash to fund the sort of major film this would be.
However, Hollywood, in its lovely monetary wisdom, does like a good sports movie. You know, one that's uplifting and can feature a major star -- maybe even a popular white star. Perhaps some of you don't consider rugby a sport, but it is. Here's the payoff: Freeman finally gets to play Mandela, but it's in a film about rugby. And he's not even the primary focus of the marketing campaign. That would be Matt Damon.
Look, I think Damon is a very good actor, a nice guy and cute as a button. But a rugby player? Let alone a South African one? Come on. He's not too tall -- I've interviewed him one-on-one -- and although he can put on the pounds as he did for "The Informant," he's not exactly beef city.
The result is a picture called "Invictus," which is based on a book by John Carlin and is directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Anthony Peckham.
When Mandela became president of South Africa, he needed to unite his country. There was intense turmoil and civil war threatened. Black South Africans weren't too pleased with the white South Africans who controlled them for decades, having shunted them off to villages that were actually internment camps.
Because the nation had ended apartheid and re-entered the world community, the 1995 World Cup rugby finals were being held in South Africa. In his infinite wisdom, Mandela compelled his citizens to focus on the underdog national team, called the Springboks, and forget their anger. I have a feeling Mandela could figure out a solution to the health care impasse in Congress.
Perhaps it's needless to write this, but the rugby team had only one black player. And will it surprise you to learn that Damon plays the star rugby player? I didn't think so.
That's the movie. Even though you may already know what happened at the finals, I will adhere to my code of movie reviewing ethics and not reveal the ending. Basically, it's "Rudy," but with more black people in the stands.
Freeman is exceptional as Mandela, and I hope this doesn't ruin any chances for him to make a genuine biographical feature about the man. Damon is good as Francois, the hero. Eastwood directs with style and skill. "Invictus" is entertaining, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's no "Gandhi."
"The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" is director Rebecca Miller's fourth film, and it's adapted from her novel of the same name. Miller is a talented writer and visual stylist. She's living proof of the adage that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Her father is celebrated playwright Arthur Miller and her mother is renowned photographer Inge Morath. And to add just a little more luster, she's married to actor Daniel Day-Lewis, whose father is Cecil Day-Lewis, once the Poet Laureate of Great Britain. Here's something you may not know: Cecil the poet wrote mystery novels under the name Nicholas Blake.
The movie stars a very good Robin Wright Penn as Pippa Lee, the 50-year-old wife of Herb, a cantankerous 80-year-old intellectual. Alan Arkin plays Herb, and that's fun to watch because the character says what he thinks. There's a solid supporting cast that includes Julianne Moore, Maria Bello, Shirley Knight, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Blake Lively and Mike Binder.
Herb decides he doesn't want to live in their cushy apartment in Manhattan, but prefers moving to a posh retirement community in leafy Connecticut. Pippa accedes. Well, it turns out that the grass really isn't always greener. The Lees don't like their new surroundings.
But this isn't a comedy. Miller, who also wrote the screenplay, has Pippa get introspective. The 30-year age difference that didn't seem so wide when she got married suddenly seems like a chasm. Pippa ponders her past. She grew up in a dysfunctional family. With Herb, she has to listen to his rants and monitor his blood pressure, but that's better than what she lived through before marriage.
Miller has a superb handle on her many complex characters. We're not watching a juggling act, we're watching a smart director who knows exactly what she wants her movie to be about. Families are funny or risky things, as are friendships. Miller has made a film that asserts itself, and she insists you don't pass moral judgment on the characters with whom you're spending time.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 15 2009 |