Having just read "Playing the Enemy" by John Carlin, I wanted to quickly follow it with the movie. Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela is a role that anyone would jump for. After 27 years in prison, Mandela emerges as the likely new leader of South Africa. But no one is quite certain of how the Afrikaaner and the Native Black will work together.
One power symbol of the Afrikaaner culture is the green and gold jersey of the Springboks rugby team. The black populace saw that as a symbol of oppression and wanted to do away with the entire sport. But Mandela saw that the Afrikaaner would go along with any changes if they were allowed to hold on to something they held dear.
Mandela sets about to bring together these two sides through the rugby game. Using his powerful personality, he has the ability to charm and influence the opposition. The culmination comes at the Rugby World Championship of 1995, held in the home country of South Africa.
To take such a powerful story and book and turn it into a movie, required some interesting plot points. The monologue to explain an important theme, the presentation on a board to show a development, the journalist to serve as a narrator and an opposition point. In fact the yellow journalist was reminiscent of the character Freddy Lounds in Manhunter and its remake Red Dragon.
Matt Damon as Francois Pinnear does a nice job to show the earnest but politically dim rugby player. In the book, Francois has a more dramatic leadership role. But the real star of this movie is Morgan Freeman. As he should be playing the role of a lifetime.
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