Seven Sports Films: Invictus

This strand covers a selection of noteworthy sports video games and what makes them worth writing about.

Name all of the rugby films you know. Even though it is one of the world's most popular sports, it has long evaded the sights of Hollywood. Of all (or any) answers to the question, Clint Eastwood's Invictus would be the highest-profile one, but it isn't the best rugby film only by default. It succeeds through

highlighting the significance of the game in a turbulent period of history, among many other strengths.

Made by an American company, Warner Bros., directed by American Eastwood and with two leads played by Americans, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, it's understandable to assume liberties may be taken with rugby in order to increase the film's appeal. Yet Invictus does not minimise the importance of rugby to the story nor does it simplify the game, most of all it works as a really good dramatisation of a really important piece of history.

As much as it is a film about rugby, it is also a film about Nelson Mandela, here played by Morgan Freeman. His life in of itself is a great story worthy of a film but Eastwood's effort, adapted by Anthony Peckham from John Carlin's excellent book Playing the Enemy, focuses in on a key moment shortly after the South African president's election in 1995.

Realising that the country remains deeply divided on the matter of race on both sides, he makes a plea to Francois Pienaar (Damon), the captain of the country's national rugby team, to win the 1995 World Cup held in South Africa. The hope being their victory in the tournament can bring together and help unite a population still in the throes of decades of apartheid laws.

Invictus has a lot of different aspects to cover and it juggles them all with ease and grace. Eastwood deftly dips in and out of the Herculean task of the South African team's World Cup campaign, Mandela's twenty seven years of harsh imprisonment and the country's troubled history with race relations - well summed up in one image, its opening shot of two playing fields separated by a road, one where black people play football, the other with white people playing rugby.

Morgan Freeman has the meatiest role in Mandela and tackles it with poise and confidence, though his performance does occasionally slip into impersonation. Invictus' Mandela has the qualities of wisdom and compassion which make him a stirring leader, but is not without faults (his broken home life), insecurities (struggles for recognition among the people) and vulnerabilities. He shares parallels with the rugby team: both are trying to prove their worth to their country despite so many already writing them off.

Eastwood maintains a feeling of realism by shooting the film on location, including the same stadium in Cape Town where the matches took place and Mandela's real cell on Robben Island. There are some notable inaccuracies, such as leaving out that Chester Williams, the only black player on the South African team, was subject to regular racist abuse. Yet the film is always on message in promoting equality and has a really grounded feeling that adds to the feeling we are watching history unfold.

One of the biggest strengths of Invictus is its rugby scenes: those featuring the sport are engaging and exciting, accessible for anyone who has no knowledge of the game while also being intricate for those who do. They make for the most rousing moments in the film, from the strain and grind of trying to score, the frustration at giving up a try and the ecstasy of scoring before a thousands-strong crowd.

This was helped by the efforts behind the scenes, with the actors coached in the game by some of South Africa's top players, in some cases those they portray in the film, one of the many aspects that aids the sense of realism. There are some familiar faces in these moments too: South African fly-half Joel Stransky is played by Scott Eastwood, son of the director who would go on to star in The Fate of the Furious and Pacific Rim: Uprising. Talisman of the much-feared New Zealand team, Jonah Lomu, here is played by Isaac Fe'aunati, who prior to the film played for Bath in the English Rugby Premiership.

Invictus may sometimes fall into tropes of the traditional underdog sports story, but succeeds when it tries to be rousing and uplifting as well as when it tries to be somber, sensible and effecting. Everyone involved is giving their all and it shows and it's multi-faceted story works really well. You may not think you would be in the market for a film about rugby, but Invictus is definitely worth two hours of your time.