42      3.5***

 

            Everyone should remember the name Jackie Robinson. He became more than a baseball player, he became a legend, and a hero to the oppressed. Almost 70 years later his influence is still felt today. You ask anyone who truly follows baseball and they know the name, the number (42), and what it meant to the sport.

Luckily this film doesn't try to do too much by trying to tell the life story of Jackie Robinson. Iinstead it focuses on Robinson's days in the Negro League in 1945 thru his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Even with America coming off its victory against Fascism in World War II, racism was still prominent and it was especially true with the racist attitudes against African-Americans. At a time when  society in America was l segregated based on race, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American Major League Baseball player. He broke through the color barrier that had kept blacks out of the Major Leagues. Despite his amazing skills as a ballplayer, Robinson faced huge adversity dealing with the racist prejudice from the public, the fans, and fellow ballplayers. He wasn't just the first black major league baseball player, his greatness on the field also had  a huge impact on the game and America's attitude towards African-Americans. He became an icon in the civil rights movement in America, and ended racial segregation in America's greatest past time. This is why we remember his name, and his number.

 

Little-known actor Chadwick Boseman brings all the necessary elements to the role of Robinson. He looks like a ballplayer and is totally convincing in the baseball scenes. He  also effectively conveys the emotional turmoil inside a man forced to endure racially charged taunts and other various indignities due to the color of his skin. He shows the grace and class with which Robinson handled the onslaught. It took true courage to not fight back. It showed true character to turn the other cheek.

 

 Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' General Manager who made the bold decision to bring an African American into the Major Leagues in 1947. Ford is tremendous. It's a rare treat to watch one of Hollywood's most famous leading men disappear into a character. At first, it seems odd to see Ford playing an old curmudgeon. But then one comes to the astonishing realization that Ford (at age 70) is actually a few years older than Rickey was when he brought Robinson to Brooklyn. In the movie, Rickey professes that his motives are financial – the Dodgers have lots of African American fans that would pay to see Robinson play. He claims the only color he cares about is green. Ford's commanding and ultimately moving portrayal, however, hints at more decent and high-minded desires driving Rickey's decision. He would seem to be a sure bet for a  Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination..  

The baseball action has a more realistic look and feel than most baseball films. Computer graphics are also effectively used to recreate long-since-demolished ballparks like Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds in exact detail.

The filmmakers present a movie that most families will still find acceptable for young fans that don't know Robinson's story or his significance in American history. You hear lots of n-words, but  each character that uses them is sternly chastised on screen. (Aside from those scattered slurs, there isn't much that most parents would find objectionable.)

 

Clark