The new film, “42,” has nothing to do with Douglas Adams’ series of books about a particular hitchhiker’s guide. As well, fortunately, it was not necessary for me to have seen “8 ½,” “10,” or “The Number 23” prior to seeing this film about Jackie Robinson. Brain Helgeland’s film, which he wrote and directed, is an outstanding depiction of Robinson’s rise from the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs to being brought to the major league Brooklyn Dodgers by Branch Rickey, president of the Dodgers organization.
Jackie Robinson, the first black player in major league baseball, is portrayed wonderfully by Chadwick Boseman. Boseman has a great screen presence as does Nicole Beharie who portrays Rachel, Jackie’s wife. Harrison Ford is great as Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey, a man who wanted to win and it did not matter to him if a good player was white, black, or anything else.
The look of the film is authentic. It feels as though we are dropped into 1946 America as we watch Robinson play in Kansas City, at spring training in Florida, and at impressive representations of actual major league stadiums of the day. The wardrobe and set design add to the film’s representative look and feel.
The baseball details in “42” are spot-on. It is evident that Helgeland either is a baseball fan or he educated himself as to the intricacies of the sport. There are not any glaring baseball technical errors. There is even a scene in which a young boy explains to his mother the balk rule as Jackie Robinson scores in a game on a balk committed by the pitcher. Apparently, Major League Baseball gave the producers of the film permission to use replica uniforms of real teams. In some baseball films, one will not clearly see players’ uniforms so it is evident that permission was not granted by MLB. Sometimes fake teams will be used such as the Des Moines Cornshuckers or the Albany Dragons or something silly like that. The fact that Robinson is seen playing in games versus real teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds adds to the authentic feel of the film.
It was a joy to see Alan Tudyk from “Firefly” in the film, however, his character is easily the least likeable in the film. Tudyk plays Ben Chapman, the absolute jerk of a racist manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. In Robinson’s first game against the Phillies, Chapman shouts racial slurs and insults at Jackie from the Phillies’ dugout in an attempt to rattle Jackie. In a film that easily could have hammered home the fact that Robinson was playing in a difficult time of racial inequality, the character of Chapman is one of the few sources of this fact as the film does not offer a sermon about the ugliness of racism as it appears to understand that the audience already is aware of this fact. I appreciated the fact the “42” does not dwell on an obvious problem of the time, but, rather focuses on the man and his achievements and the fact that Robinson was able to achieve his goals during this time in history.
I suppose one may categorize “42” as light fare, as it is definitely a “crowd-pleaser,” however, at the same time, never does the film condescend to the audience. It works like an enjoyable history lesson about what was going on in baseball between 1945-1947. I learned a few things I did not know about before such as the suspension of Dodgers’ manager Leo Durocher for conduct found to be immoral by the Catholic Youth Organization. I learned that Branch Rickey went to Ohio Wesleyan Unversity. This stuck in my memory because I remembered that former Seattle Supersonics basketball great, Jack Sikma, played his college career at Illinois Wesleyan University, located just a bit south of Normal, Illinois, a fine town where I once had a car repaired while on a cross-country road trip.
The baseball facts in the film were obviously well-researched and, as a baseball fan, I appreciated this fact.
“42” is not as good as, but does follow the same kind of well-organized and well-structured pacing as “Argo.” The script does not linger on trivial subplots that do nothing to advance the story. This is always appreciated as it does not allow the audience’s mind to wander and it does not allow the film to stall at any point. If you enjoy well-made films in which you learn a little something about a subject of which you may have known very little or if you enjoy such films and also like baseball, you will surely enjoy “42,” the answer to the question, “What is the ultimate good movie about Jackie Robinson?” or "What is the title of a good baseball movie?"
The look of the film is authentic. It feels as though we are dropped into 1946 America as we watch Robinson play in Kansas City, at spring training in Florida, and at impressive representations of actual major league stadiums of the day. The wardrobe and set design add to the film’s representative look and feel.
The baseball details in “42” are spot-on. It is evident that Helgeland either is a baseball fan or he educated himself as to the intricacies of the sport. There are not any glaring baseball technical errors. There is even a scene in which a young boy explains to his mother the balk rule as Jackie Robinson scores in a game on a balk committed by the pitcher. Apparently, Major League Baseball gave the producers of the film permission to use replica uniforms of real teams. In some baseball films, one will not clearly see players’ uniforms so it is evident that permission was not granted by MLB. Sometimes fake teams will be used such as the Des Moines Cornshuckers or the Albany Dragons or something silly like that. The fact that Robinson is seen playing in games versus real teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds adds to the authentic feel of the film.
It was a joy to see Alan Tudyk from “Firefly” in the film, however, his character is easily the least likeable in the film. Tudyk plays Ben Chapman, the absolute jerk of a racist manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. In Robinson’s first game against the Phillies, Chapman shouts racial slurs and insults at Jackie from the Phillies’ dugout in an attempt to rattle Jackie. In a film that easily could have hammered home the fact that Robinson was playing in a difficult time of racial inequality, the character of Chapman is one of the few sources of this fact as the film does not offer a sermon about the ugliness of racism as it appears to understand that the audience already is aware of this fact. I appreciated the fact the “42” does not dwell on an obvious problem of the time, but, rather focuses on the man and his achievements and the fact that Robinson was able to achieve his goals during this time in history.
I suppose one may categorize “42” as light fare, as it is definitely a “crowd-pleaser,” however, at the same time, never does the film condescend to the audience. It works like an enjoyable history lesson about what was going on in baseball between 1945-1947. I learned a few things I did not know about before such as the suspension of Dodgers’ manager Leo Durocher for conduct found to be immoral by the Catholic Youth Organization. I learned that Branch Rickey went to Ohio Wesleyan Unversity. This stuck in my memory because I remembered that former Seattle Supersonics basketball great, Jack Sikma, played his college career at Illinois Wesleyan University, located just a bit south of Normal, Illinois, a fine town where I once had a car repaired while on a cross-country road trip.
The baseball facts in the film were obviously well-researched and, as a baseball fan, I appreciated this fact.
“42” is not as good as, but does follow the same kind of well-organized and well-structured pacing as “Argo.” The script does not linger on trivial subplots that do nothing to advance the story. This is always appreciated as it does not allow the audience’s mind to wander and it does not allow the film to stall at any point. If you enjoy well-made films in which you learn a little something about a subject of which you may have known very little or if you enjoy such films and also like baseball, you will surely enjoy “42,” the answer to the question, “What is the ultimate good movie about Jackie Robinson?” or "What is the title of a good baseball movie?"
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