42

42 really had no chance. I was going to love it, whether it stunk or not. Jackie Robinson is one of my favorite characters from baseball history, a game I truly love. Going into 42, I already knew Robinson's story, whether it be from Ken Burns' Baseball documentary, books, newspaper articles, or countless TV specials. Robinson is an iconic figure, who holds a special place in American history. He became the first black baseball player in a game that was deeply segregated, and helped start to integrate a nation. Major League Baseball annually has "Jackie Robinson Day", a day in which all players wear his number, 42. I used to think that this tribute was overblown, that integration of the game was inevitable, and that it was all too much. 42, and the true story it is based upon, prove just how wrong my prior thinking was.

The film opens with Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) musing about the possibility of a black man playing for his team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. He decides on Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), a young, talented player from the Negro Leagues to be the first black baseball player in Major League Baseball. Rickey explains to Jackie that he wants a man with the courage "not to fight back". He warns Robinson that he will face extreme prejudice, and tries to prepare him for the challenges he will face. As soon as Robinson reports to spring training, he is confronted with difficulties he did not see coming.

Sports movies are an entirely mixed bag. Some choose to go the route to make the movie not really about the sport, but the character (Raging Bull, Rocky), and generally these make the best films. Others choose to show a player's triumph over incredible odds (Rudy, The Rookie), and some merely focus on showing a team's unlikely path to victory (Miracle, Remember the Titans, Major League, Hoosiers). Most sports movies that are based upon true stories take very few risks, as there is a compelling tale built in. I've seen great sports movies, and I've seen ones that are cheesy and terrible. Going into 42, I was very worried they would mess it up. But the story of Jackie Robinson is so heroic and compelling, that outcome was almost an impossibility. As long as the filmmakers and actors were capable, 42 couldn't miss.

Boseman does a fine job of making Jackie seem real. Despite the icon he has become, Robinson was just a guy, and he seems real on screen. Ford was kind of a surprising choice to play Rickey, an unsung hero in the story of baseball's integration, but the legendary actor does a fine job. I was happy that Rickey's strong belief in Jesus was at least mentioned in the film, and is shown to be a part of what drives him to try and integrate the game. Both he and Robinson want to model Jesus in their actions, with Rickey instructing Robinson to turn the other cheek like our Savior did. The father-son type relationship that burgeons between Rickey and Robinson is sweet. Rickey not only cares about what their actions mean for history, but also for Jackie himself.

The bit parts are all cast relatively well. However I wasn't crazy about Lucas Black, complete with his signature southern drawl, as Pee Wee Reese. Reese was an important player in Robinson's story, becoming an unlikely friend of Jackie's, despite his southern roots. For some reason I didn't fully buy in to Black's performance, which might have something to do with the fact that he's just not that great of an actor (his performance as a young child in Sling Blade being the exception). Alan Tudyk (Dodgeball, Serenity) goes completely against his nice-guy type as the despicable manager of the Philadelphia Phillies who famously heckled Jackie more than anyone. Jackie's wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie) is beautiful and supportive. The rest of his teammates all do a pretty good job in their small roles (and yes, that is the guy who was in a host of Disney Channel movies including Luck of the Irish and Smart House playing one of Robinson's more racist teammates).

There are some subtle and not so subtle moments about racism during this film, but it is definitely not as in-your-face as, say, Remember the Titans is. From all the history I've read, the things that Robinson faced in the film are pretty much like what he faced in real life. It would have been easy to sensationalize this story even more, but director Brian Helgeland does a pretty decent job of sticking to history.

I think that 42 is the anti-Les Miserables for me. Les Miserables was well made and well acted; yet I still did not like it because of the type of movie that it is (one in which every line is painstakingly sung instead of spoken). I loved 42 because it told a great baseball story, and did a fine job of staying true to it's source. That was basically all I needed to like it. 42 is a baseball tale, yes, but also one that is important in all of American history. Baseball fans and non sports fans alike should be equally impressed.

4/5