Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) is captain of South Africa's poorly-performing rugby team, Springboks. They are widely supported by the white population of South Africa, although a key player is black, whereas the black population views them as another remnant of apartheid and has no interest in this team.

Mandela is up to his neck in a plethora of problems --- unemployment, housing, racial tension --- you name it, but he sees a way of bringing together the people by supporting this rugby team and aiding them in their bid for the 1995 World Cup Championship. He fights his own party in their zeal to change the country's national anthem and the name of the rugby team. He reminds them how strongly he feels about the need to forgive those who were in power, and to work together to overcome all of their present problems. Mandela personally reaches out to Pienaar, and invites him to tea in an effort to establish goodwill and explain his theory of solidarity to this skeptical team captain.

Although director Clint Eastwood has made some masterpieces in the last few years, "Invictus" does not fall into that category. Screenwriter Anthony Peckham has done a very good job piecing together this inspiring story based on the book "Playing the Enemy" by John Carlin. My biggest complaint is the final rugby match which was way too long. How many times do we need to see these men struggling in a scrum --- we get it already --- it's a tough sport!

I also feel Eastwood would have done everyone in the audience a favor if he had employed subtitles. The dialogue amongst the South Africans, especially the teammates, is virtually impossible to understand, and thus many meaningful lines go unheard.

Freeman is perfect as Mandela. Apparently he was also Mandela's choice to play Mandela. His diction is wonderful, so we can understand him well, thank goodness. Freeman has met Mandela and become friends, so he is able to capture many of the former president's nuances and mannerisms. It's a marvelous performance.

Damon has become such an outstanding actor that I really did believe him as Pienaar --- accent and all. But this story is really about Mandela and his unflagging efforts to heal the wounds of his country. The title "Invictus" comes from Mandela's favorite poem of the same name by William Ernest Henley, on which he relied heavily while in prison. He gives a copy of the poem to Pienaar, and the two last lines "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul" are prevalent throughout this film.

As Mandela, Morgan Freeman gives us a wonderful insight into the man that spent 27 years in prison for protesting his country's policy of apartheid, i.e., legal racial separation. Eastwood provides essentially a glimpse of Mandela in microcosm, focusing on the leader's astute realization that sports was a way to unite his still-divided country. Somewhat of a gamble that could backfire, Mandela chose to form a bond with the captain of the wildly popular (among whites) Springboks rugby team, Francois Pienaar, played by Matt Damon. With his gracious manner and unassuming character, Mandela quickly wins over Pienaar, and it becomes the captain's turn to inspire his teammates.

What is more difficult is the thawing of rather frosty relations between the black members of Mandela's security force and the white bodyguards who are assigned to work with them. Some of the film's more touching subtleties involve these former adversaries embracing the Springboks rise through the World Cup challenge, and finding themselves embracing each other, however reluctantly in the beginning.

Eastwood always goes for realism in his films, and so as the final credits roll, you will notice the great physical similarity between Freeman and his subject. Even Damon greatly resembles the Springboks' captain he portrays. To prepare for his role, Damon studied with Chester Williams, the only black member of the Springboks champion team, and based on his physique, Damon looks like he worked out extensively in the gym, as well.

"Invictus" may not have you cheering in the aisles like "Hoosiers" or "Friday Night Lights", but it is a realistic foray into the violent world of rugby (think American football with zero equipment). It should certainly give moviegoers a greater appreciation for Nelson Mandela than any history book ever could, and that alone may be Eastwood's greatest achievement of his directing career.