42 (DVD REVIEW)
42
DVD Review
by Kam Williams
Baseball Biopic
Recounts Jackie Robinson’s Historic Breaking of Major League Color Barrier
From its formation in the late 19th
Century until well into the 1940s, Major League Baseball operated in accordance
with an unwritten rule that the sport was to remain strictly segregated. The
tacit understanding among the owners stipulated that no blacks were to be
signed by any clubs, thereby frustrating the aspirations of many
African-Americans who dreamed of playing professionally.
In the wake of World War II, however,
this untenable state of affairs came to rankle Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager
Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), a man who fervently felt that to remain the
national pastime, baseball needed to integrate. After all, thousands upon
thousands of African-American soldiers were returning home to widespread
discrimination based on skin color despite having been willing to die for their
country in the conflict overseas.
So, in 1945, Rickey decided to
challenge the status quo by being the first GM to put a black ballplayer on the
field. However, he also suspected that pursuit of that landmark moment might be
met with considerable resistance, given the virulent strains of racism still
running rampant through much of the nation.
Therefore, he knew that the choice
of the person to break the color barrier was critical, because it had to be
done by an individual blessed not only with extraordinary athletic talent but
with the requisite character, namely, the amalgam of integrity, restraint and
resolve that would assure the success of the challenging endeavor. The
candidate he settled upon was Jackie Robinson (Chad Boseman), a
college-educated, veteran Army officer who just happened to be an All-Star
second baseman in the fledgling Negro Leagues.
The two forged an alliance soon
after an exchange in which Robinson assured his boss that he wouldn’t respond
in kind to any of the racial epithets or vile vitriol about to be hurled in his
direction while on the road. As it turned out, even some of his own new
teammates initially took issue with his joining the Dodgers in 1947, the year
he was brought up to the big leagues.
That historic achievement is
painstakingly recreated in 42, a poignant cinematic portrait of an American
legend directed by Brian Helgeland. The film carefully chronicles a host of
humiliations Robinson was forced to endure en route to equality, from “Colored
Only” bathrooms to separate accommodations to the relentless ribbing from
bigoted fans in the stands and rivals in the opposing dugout.
Fortunately, Jackie managed to
maintain his dignity and composure in the face of wearying adversity, thereby
opening the door for the full integration of baseball by other
African-Americans waiting in the wings. An emotionally-draining biopic
featuring Oscar-quality performances by Harrison Ford and Chad Boseman.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for epithets, ethnic slurs and mature themes
Running time: 128 minutes
Distributor: Warner Home
Video
Blu-ray/DVD Combo
Pack Extras: Stepping into History; Full-contact Baseball; and The Legacy of
Number 42.
To see a trailer for 42, visit:
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