42

FLIX!

42

Off the top it should be noted that I love biopics. "Ray", "Walk The Line", Coal Miner's Daughter" and many others come to mind. I also love movies about baseball. So naturally I could not wait to see this baseball biopic about an American hero - Jackie Robinson.

This movie it turns out is not a biopic, that is, it is not the story of someone's life. It is not a movie about baseball. 42 is about the strength, courage, and determination of a black American for a moment in time in American history.

For most of my life, certainly at least until I watched the Ken Burns "Inning" (as the installments were called in his remarkable film "Baseball") on the 1940's, I flatly and off-handedly knew the Jackie Robinson was the first black player to be in baseball's major leagues. I knew it was in 1947, and I knew he was with the Brooklyn Dodgers. I knew they always called it "breaking the color barrier." But until the Burns film description, and not until seeing it played out in this film did the magnitude of what Jackie Robinson went through really sink in for me. And for many others either, I suspect.

Although it's not really addressed in the movie to any degree, here's a little background: Baseball's Major Leagues had been an all-white game since the inception of the American League and the National League. After the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal (wherein Criminals used bribes to rig the World Series), Baseball owners decided to appoint a Commissioner to oversee the leagues. They picked a judge who had made legal decisions favoring owners over players. He was Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Besides being the first Commissioner of Baseball, he was an extreme racist. Owners had tried to sign black players - that is, ask Landis if they could before 1947 and he always said no. He was staunch in his bigoted belief that baseball should always be white.

Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers was a particular thorn in the side of Landis. He had pestered Landis many times wanting to get talented black players on his roster. But of course Landis forbade it. But no man is immortal, and in 1945, Landis died. This was what Branch Rickey had been waiting for. This was his chance, but he had the wisdom to understand that the first black player would have to be a very special man. And now all people who love baseball are thankful that Branch Rickey chose Jackie Robinson.

Because Jackie Robinson was a very special man. A man of great character certainly, but doesn't mean any of it was easy for him. Jackie Robinson is brought to life here by a relatively movie unknown - Chadwick Boseman. Take it from me, this is not the last you will see of this guy. He brought the stamina and courage of Robinson to the screen, but also the human suffering and frailty. There were times when Jackie would just want to quit, but he was held together by the guiding hand and wisdom of Branch Rickey, played wonderfully by Harrison Ford. Honestly, I've never been a big Harrison Ford fan, but this was masterful work, and the role he should be most remembered for. Although Rickey kept claiming that his insistence on having black players was all about money, we can feel that it is not about that. It's about justice. And fairness. And how do we as an audience "feel" that? Because of Ford's portrayal in collaboration with a great director (Brian Hegland), great screenwriter (Hegland again), and a wonderful editor.

Another relatively unknown Nicole Beharie brought us Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife. Beautiful and likeable, and yet also strong. Jackie was never just in this alone. When Jackie was being jeered with racial epithets from the stands, Rachel was often there to hear them too. But she had to stay poised. She as well as Jackie understood that there was a lot more at stake than just she and Jack. But that didn't necessarily make it any easier.

Other stand-out performances were Christopher Melori as Leo Durocher, John McGuinley as Red Barber, Andre Holland as the black sports writer Wendell Smith, Lucas Block as Pee Wee Reese, Max Gail (yes, the "Barney Miller" Max Gail) as Manager Burt Sholton, and Alan Tudyk as the despicable Ben Chapman, manager of the Phillies. I am glad they used a bunch of fairly unfamiliar faces in this cast; it needed to be subtle and not sensationalized by lots of big name movie stars. Mr. Ford excepted of course.

And that's the thing; in the wrong hands this could have been another formula sports movie. But it isn't. This is a film that shows us how deplorable things were, and yet is uplifting for everyone who is lucky enough to see it.

I applauded at the end.