The Flick: 42
The Peeps: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, T. R. Knight, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Lucas Black, Alan Tudyk, John McGinley, Max Gail, etc.
The Dealio: Branch Rickey (Ford) decides to deliberately integrate the Brooklyn Dodgers. After 'scouting' numerous candidates from the Negro League, his attention settles on Jackie Robinson. But this is more than an interesting historical film, or an involving sports story. This is a chance to slide a not-so-distant event under the microscope and, just maybe, learn how far we have come...or not come. At times, undeniably sugar-coated and anachronistic, the movie has a great heart and some absolutely splendid acting- not least of which came from a person I had never heard of before: Chadwick Boseman (Jackie). An admitted baseball nut in my youth, I recognised so many of the names, and it was fascinating to see them on the screen: living, breathing, scrapping, standing tall, even being just plain wrong-headed. But, this time, seen without the accepting veil of childhood observations.
The Grading Session: 4.73 pengies out of 5. Is this a perfect movie? Well, I can't think of a single example of that. But, this I do know: here is a film well worth seeing, whether you love America's Sport or break out in hives at the thought of enduring another season under the sun. There is so much to this story, so many people who played a part- positively or negatively- into making, not just sports, but America, what it is today. Go see this one and learn from it.
Lessons Learned: Sometimes valor lies in not fighting injustice with force and fists, but with honorable behavior and great strength of character that shames your adversaries by comparison. Also this: if you have achieved much, it is absolutely vital that you pay it forward. Lastly this: if you do something right, but for the wrong reasons, does it count? What do you think?
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