The other day I talked about The Lovely Bones' quickly vanishing Oscar opportunities and felt nothing but fear that Invictus would follow the big name director downfall. I was delightfully surprised with the reviews that came online today. It looks now that while Invictus may not be the best picture of the year is will still be a great film.
Kirk Honeycutt from The Hollywood Reporter says "Nothing speaks so dramatically about Clint Eastwood's recent and remarkable burst of creativity as a director of awards-worthy films than the appearance of "Invictus," a historical drama that few if any filmmakers could have launched within the studio system. Here is a movie about Nelson Mandela, South Africa after apartheid and, of all things, the sport of rugby. None is high on any list of topics that studio suits crave, which tend more toward vampires and superheroes. Even the title -- that of a Victoria-era poem -- is obscure."
Todd McCarthy from Variety says "Directed by Eastwood with straightforward confidence, the film is marbled with innumerable instances of Mandela disarming his presumed opponents while giving pause to those among his natural constituency who might be looking for some payback rather than intelligent restraint. Freeman, a beautiful fit for the part even if he doesn't go all the way with the accent, takes a little while to shake off the man's saintlike image, and admittedly, the role of such a hallowed contemporary figure does not invite too much complexity, inner exploration or actorly elaboration. That said, Freeman is a constant delight; gradually, one comes to grasp Mandela's political calculations, certitudes and risks, the troubled personal life he keeps mostly out of sight, and his extraordinary talent for bringing people around to his point of view."
The cloud of mystery surrounding highly buzzed about Oscar films is beginning to clear with some disappointing, but some inspirational results. The last two major contenders not to be released for review by the press are Nine and Avatar. With cautious optimism I hope that they are worth our time.
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