42 (2013)

42  (2013)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Brian Helgeland
    Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie,
    Christopher Meloni, Lucas Black, John C. McGinley,
    Andre Holland, Alan Tudyk, Ryan Merriman, Max Gail
An inspirational biopic about a genuine American hero. It's not a mark of honor for America or its national pastime that no black ballplayer appeared in a major league game till 1947. The player was Jackie Robinson, and he got the job (and paid the price for it) because Branch Rickey, the crusty, cigar-chomping owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, decided it was time to break down the wall. (He also saw that Robinson's hitting and speed could help him win ball games.) Robinson's route to the show was not easy. The racism he encountered was ugly, and the movie does nothing to finesse that. (The race-baiting behavior of Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman is especially repugnant.) Chadwick Boseman plays Robinson, a proud, gifted, strong-willed guy pushed to the limit by a situation that requires him to show courage by not fighting back. He captures not only Robinson's competitive nature and submerged anger, but the exhausting toll the battle took on his psyche. Harrison Ford plays Rickey, and if you look and listen closely enough, you can tell it's Harrison Ford, but mostly what you see is Branch Rickey, hard-assed, uncompromising and larger-than-life. Not many actors share Ford's capacity for understatement, and not many actors could play such an over-the-top character without going over the top. It's a great part for a 70-year-old star making the transition from heroes to character parts, and it leaves you hoping it's only the beginning. You'd like to see a lot more of the new old Harrison Ford.