Courtesy | thatsenuff.com
Baseball is America’s sport. Sunflower pits, sun-stained caps, the smell of the ballpark — few games are so spirited and sacred as this. As our country’s favorite pastime, it has grown up alongside our progress as a nation. The sport is a part of America’s history, even in its darkest times. In the 1940s, evil ran aplenty as a racist Caucasian society discriminated against African-Americans as though they were animals. In the new biopic, “42,” the story of legendary ballplayer Jackie Robinson is told in full, both in how he overcame segregation and also changed the game of baseball forever.
In 1946, baseball was a white man’s sport. It always had been, and the powers that be saw no reason to change that — at least until owner Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) saw fit to recruit a black player for his Brooklyn Dodgers. From hundreds of player profiles, Rickey eventually settled on one Jack Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), a scrappy and unpredictable shortstop from California. As Rickey extends his offer to Jack, it comes with a promise of opportunity — and an assurance of ugly backlash to a black man taking the plate. From then on, the film chronicles Jackie’s fight to make it in the bigs, both in performance and the sheer will to persevere in the face of unbelievable hatred. What happens is history at its best, a single individual rising to an occasion and shifting the reality of their surroundings, forever for the better.
Civil rights represented unlike other sports movies
“42” is a sports drama that tackles the issue of racism more directly than any film before it. Even more than “Remember the Titans” and “Glory Road,” the constant bombardment of bigoted savagery on our protagonist created a sense of tension and lament as I’ve never felt before watching a movie about civil rights in sports. This is because instead of a team weathering the evil of prejudice, we are watching a single man take it all on his shoulders. He doesn’t fight back. Why you might ask? Because Rickey spares no time reminding Jackie that to fight is to lose in this arena. Turning the other cheek is biblical, and for Jackie Robinson it was the means by which he diminished his enemy to a horde of cretinous rednecks and became one of the greatest players of all time.
A movie about baseball could’ve showed more, well — baseball
Like the Oscar-nominated “Moneyball” in 2011, “42” portrays baseball with the proper amount of grit and class. This is a game of tradition and great strategic precision. “42” could and should have incorporated more actual ballplay not only to stimulate the audience, but to really stress the fact that Jackie Robinson revolutionized how the game was played offensively. His unbelievable athleticism allowed him to steal bases at will, as well as bat consistently in the .300s.
He came to play ball, pure and simple, and helped the MLB shake off some of its more dated conventions. There are plenty of scenes in “42” where Jackie is shown dominating the playing field, because what drives a sports film is the constant suspense of the game itself. I would’ve liked to have felt more of that suspense to amplify Jackie’s story.
All-star performances from a genuine cast
In terms of performance, Boseman was born to play Jackie. He has the look and charisma of the icon absolutely pegged, and Boseman was able to inhabit a space of both toughness and vulnerability very effectively. Nicole Beharie is wonderful as Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s strong and beautiful wife who may have been the primary reason he was able to survive the pressure and hostility of his circumstances.
Lucas Black is charming as the legendary Pee Wee Reese of the Dodgers, and John C. McGinley — known for his role as Dr. Cox on “Scrubs” — shows his range as famed baseball announcer Red Barber. The real performance, however, and my favorite part of “42” was watching Ford as the gruff and lovable Branch Rickey. As an actor, Ford is simply an enjoyable man to watch in his craft.
While more of the game could have been incorporated and it would have even been effective to feature more of Jackie’s past in the story, “42” shows a lot of heart and honors one of the all time greats of baseball. Branch Rickey was a man with a vision, and Jackie Robinson became that reality, running his way into the bigs to become a World Series champ, a six-time All-Star and an inspiration to anyone and everyone fighting to overcome the odds.
