42 - 4 smiles

If you’re a baseball fan like me, seeing “42” is a must. If you’re a Dodger fan, seeing “42” will inform and delight. If you believe in the equality of man and the nobility of someone like Jackie Robinson, who endured all the vitriol and hatred that society could hurl at him, “42” will reinforce what a hero Robinson was and still is. Robinson, backed by Brooklyn Dodgers chief Branch Rickey, single-handedly broke the color barrier years before Jim Crow laws were abolished and schools followed suit.  Writer-director Brian Helgeland brings to the screen a concentrated story almost exclusively devoted to Robinson’s first season in the majors. And he doesn’t pull any punches in depicting the ugly racism that Robinson faced on a daily basis, from some of his team members, who drafted a petition saying that they wouldn’t play with him, to the Phillies manager who unleashes a stream of vile racist epithets that go far beyond the N-word. It’s a hard scene to watch. More importantly, at it’s core, “42” is a love story between Jack and his wife Rachel and we get glimpses of the depth of their love and how it balanced Jackie when things got too tough on the ball field.

The relatively little-known and charismatic Chadwick Boseman has a star-making turn as Robinson as does Nicole Beharie as Rachel Robinson. Boseman is perfectly teamed with a nearly unrecognizable Harrison Ford, terrific in his first character role as gruff Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey. (Ford certainly deserves to be remembered come Academy Award nomination time.) Andre Holland brings ballast to the role of Wendall Smith, the savvy black sportswriter and future legend himself, whom Rickey hires to chronicle Robinson’s arrival to ‘the show.’ Lucas Black gives a satisfying turn as shortstop Pee Wee Reese and Alan Tudyk is chilling as Philadelphia’s foul-mouthed manager Ben Chapman. “42” is more than just a baseball movie. It’s a compelling and uplifting story that captures a pivotal moment in American history through the lens of our national pastime. 4/12/13