42

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie

Production Companies: Warner Bros. Pictures/Legendary Pictures

Reviewed: April 21, 2013

I caught the new Harrison Ford movie, “42,” this week.  I’m not a sports fan and I’m not real big on movies that might smack of activism and slam the southeastern region of the U.S. since I was born and partially raised there. However, one of my cousins is an extra in that movie and I wanted to support his work. So, there!  (He’s the squatting reporter on the right of the movie poster on this page.) 

I wasn’t expecting much in the way of “my kind” of entertainment.  However, I have to say that I enjoyed the movie immensely.  I had expected some heavy-handed “white, southern guys are bad” movie.  What I saw was an even handed treatment of some of the experiences that baseball great, Jackie Robinson, endured as he shattered the color barrier in professional baseball.  What this baseball legend had to face and endure is sad and maddening. That kind of behavior should never have been found or allowed between our shores.  It did – and, sometimes – still does happen. 

Robinson is brilliantly played by Chadwick Boseman. His treatment of Robinson was one of rugged determination who demonstrated an intense work ethic and the willingness to resist the rightful urge to push back whenever racism reared its ugly head – which was often in his career – both from his team mates as well as other teams. In fact, I was quite surprised that the movie had a Phillies manager spew his ugly, racist bile against Jackie instead of a manager from a southern based team.  Granted, the manager was a southerner but you get my point.

Mrs. Rachel Robinson was superbly and gracefully portrayed by the beautiful Nicole Beharie.  Team owner Branch Rickey was serviced up by a very convincing performance by Harrison Ford.  The cohesiveness of the cast in this moving is seamless and you feel that you’re right there as part of this historic story.

As I said at the beginning of this review, I am not a sports fan but this movie captured my attention from beginning to end.  I highly recommend seeing it.  It’s family friendly and definitely worth seeing a second (or more) time.