Sports angle saps power from 'Invictus'

Director Clint Eastwood has explored the pain and purpose of ordinary people put in extraordinary situations from the boxing ring of "Million Dollar Baby" to the bloody South Pacific in "Flags of Our Fathers" to a local neighborhood in "Gran Torino."

His "Invictus," based on Josh Carlin's "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation," takes this exploration to a grand scale: Nelson Mandela's efforts to unite a deeply divided South Africa through rugby.

A newly elected Mandela (Morgan Freeman) needs a major event to show the world South Africa has become a different place since the end of Apartheid. No stage is greater than the billion people who watch the rugby World Cup tournament. All Mandela needs to do is inspire the team to go beyond what is expected of them.

The film's title comes from 19th century English poet William Ernest Henley's poem, which includes the line "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." That poem became an inspiration to Mandela while he spent 27 years in prison.

Eastwood bounces between Mandela's political and emotional battles to the efforts of the little-heralded team to win national pride. Unlike past works, Eastwood secondary plotline about the rugby team creates a distraction from the central story.

The split focus takes time away from Freeman's masterful performance. Few actors can bring the power, dignity and quiet optimism to a role the way Freeman does. It's no wonder Mandela publicly said years ago if anyone was to play him on film it should be Freeman.

The sports parts just don't have that same power -- though Matt Damon, who plays the team captain, turns in one of his best efforts and is at his best in scenes with Freeman. One reason is that rugby doesn't have the same wide following in the United States as football or baseball. The tension about how well the team plays doesn't come on the field and is artificially produced by watching the clock.

Freeman's performance is strong enough to carry the film.

But it does make one wonder just how good this movie could have been if the focus had stayed on Mandela.