Review: 42 (2013)

Writer/director Brian Helgeland's 42 is an openly earnest and sentimental bit of old-school hokum.  It is the kind of studio programmer biopic that was once a standard issue release, and it is absolutely successful in its respective goals.  It doesn't aim to be an all-encompassing epic of race relations in the 1940's, nor does it even strive to use the Jackie Robinson story as a grand statement on the eventual Civil Rights movement to come, even as its characters are all-too-aware of the color barrier being broken.  It masks a certain subtly and nuance beyond sweeping music and sometimes obvious monologues.  Released in April instead of October or November, it is surely not intended to win Oscars but merely to tell an educational story to a generation for whom its significance may have lessened over the years.


The film's 128 minutes frankly fly by with nary an ounce of fat to be found once the primary narrative kicks into gear.  Baseball fans will argue that the film gives short shrift to this detail or that detail, and the picture doesn't even try to present an overview of post-war Jim Crow America.  We get as much detail as we need, from the 'whites only' restrooms to the near constant barrage of racially-charged attacks, mostly verbal, hurled at Mr. Robinson on and off the field.  There is a scene, arguably meant to be amusing, where Jackie  (Chadwick Boseman) and his wife (Nicole Beharie) are approached by a white man and the young couple braces for a violent assault only to be greeted with good cheer from a fan.  It's an obvious turn, but the very real fear in Boseman and Beharie's eyes, of any random white person who would seek to do them harm with no real consequence to be paid, represents the psychological trauma of racism more vividly than any other moment in the film.

Moments like that help offset the somewhat self-congratulatory nature of the film, especially in how it halos the white people of the time who happen to have anti-segregationist attitudes.  And it must be stated that most of the best lines and showiest moments go to white actors. Boseman merely acts as the rock around which his own story revolves (this is of course something the film acknowledges, as Robinson is forced to play the role of the generic black man in the eyes of his fans).  In what is arguably a co-starring role, Harrison Ford gives one of the more energetic and showiest performances of his career as Dodgers owner Branch Rickey.  It's a rare thing to see Ford overact and the film gifts his role with an endless fountain of wisdom and profoundities.  But the film still provides him a climactic moment of shading that is appreciated. Had this been a more high profile film with a more awards-friendly release date, I'd argue Harrison Ford would have good-willed himself into an Oscar nomination.

Nicole Beharie is far better than the material she is given as the standard supportive wife.  The likes of Chris Meloni, Lucas Black, Alan Tudyk, T.R. Knight, and John C. McGinley add class and entertainment value to the production, while Heigland's direction is refreshingly non-showy.  The film is honest about its time without sacrificing its family-friendly nature (why it's PG-13 I absolutely cannot say).  For every cheesy moment of a young (black) boy being inspired by Jackie Robinson there is another chilling moment where another young (white) boy gives into peer pressure and hurls racial epithets at the ballplayer. The film ends on a relative high note, but it doesn't pretend that Robinson's struggles with racism have ended. It doesn't pretend that there aren't ten still-racist white people for every one who sees their prejudice wane.

Without being too overt about it, 42 presents Jackie Robinson as a modern day Christ figure, and argues that every person who is the first to break a certain culture boundary must suffer on a grand(er) scale so that the next ones of their ilk can cross the proverbial line unmolested.  Bosemark's best moments are not his stolen bases or his quick-witted replies to the racism hurled his way, but rather the sheer terror at not only withstanding the abuse and death threats but also measuring up to an impossible ideal of being the very first African American baseball player. And without being overt about it at all, the film works as a parable/commentary for the current debate on openly-gay athletes.  Call it intentional or accidental timeliness, but only a blind and deaf person won't notice the similarities in terms of the talking points hurled by the 'other side'.

Purely as an old-fashioned biography of a somewhat sainted individual, 42 is absolutely entertaining from start-to-finish.  The film is filled with fun character turns and is smarter than you'd expect about the inherent flaws in telling such a story (re - the first act moment where Jackie acknowledges all of the other people basically 'allowing' him to make history).  It is a fine film and a solid movie.  It relies on formula and occasionally dives headfirst into cheese.  But it gets the job done and crosses the home plate in style.  42 may not be a home run, but it steals third without breaking a sweat.
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Box Office Take: Sadly even the success of a film like this will likely have little effect on the industry, as studios are often all-too quick to write off successes of anything outside the norm as a 'fluke'.  Still, if Red Tails can open with $20 million, that seems to be a reasonable Fri-Sun result for the film.  No one's career is going to rise or fall with this one, as sadly it's not like any studio is lining up to give Chadwick Boseman a superhero franchise even if this hits big (there is a whole separate essay on the irony of that) .  Brian Helgeland will still be in demand as a writer regardless, but a strong box office showing could put him on the director 'hot list' for various studio tent poles. Still, 42 is a strong example of the moderately-budgeted studio programmer that used to be par for the course before the era of the four-quadrant global blockbuster.