Up until this film, probably the best film about Jackie Robinson was the one in which the star played himself. This wasn't a bad film, though it seemed very over-idealized. Finally, after all these years, Hollywood has finally put a nice budget into making a lovely tribute to this baseball great. However, and this isn't a complaint, it is NOT a film about the entire life of Robinson--just a tiny portion. Of course, it's clearly the most important part--his career in the minor leagues and his first year in major league baseball. It does not discuss how his career was unfortunately cut short by diabetes--as was his life. But the movie makers clearly couldn't do EVERYTHING--and they were wise to narrow the focus. But as for me, I'd like to see a sequel--and what happened to Robinson AFTER the 1947 season. In fact, when the film ends, you see that Dodgers win the National League pennant--but you don't learn that they lost the World Series to the Yankees (that WOULD have been anticlimactic).
So what did I think of the film? Well, I thought it was terrific--and I really appreciated how the film tried to get the history correct (with a few tiny exceptions). Ben Chapman (the manager of the Phillies) really was a racist jerk. Robinson did, for a time, live in Sanford, Florida (that's a bit ironic). And, the film tried very hard to get the look right. I also appreciated seeing Harrison Ford try to stretch his range--uglying himself up and changing his voice so much to try to adequately portray Branch Rickey. All in all, a very, very inspiring and touching film--one even non-baseball players could love.
