This film came out more than a month ago, and I’m sure everyone who cared about seeing a biopic of Jackie Robinson already has, but don’t worry, this is just the first review of many today.
What Works: I think this is a solid film, but not a great one. There are some great scenes (there’s one scene where a young baseball fan is having a perfectly nice conversation with his dad, then calls Robinson the n-word because his dad does…a chilling indictment of just hereditary most prejudice is), and some feisty moments from Harrison Ford as a relatively progressive general manager, but it’s far from the best biopic (or baseball movie) I’ve ever seen. It’s sturdy, very old-fashioned, and uplifting enough to make most people feel they got their money’s worth, but I would have preferred a spikier, more well-rounded biopic.
What Doesn’t Work: The film focuses on a very limited time in Jackie Robinson’s career, and although this brick-by-brick approach to his first major league season is interesting and detailed, I would like to have seen more about his early life and later career. Plus, the film isn’t really all that interested in Robinson. Yes, he’s technically the main character, but only Ford’s Branch Rickey is allowed any colorful moments and grand speeches. It’s remarkably not introspective into how Robinson felt and thought. As is, he’s a cypher who gets mad sometimes, but, mostly, keeps his super-human cool even off the field. A better film might have showed us how this affected Robinson’s relationships, particularly with his sunny wife (played by the always-radiant Nicole Behari). I find it hard to believe that he didn’t let any of the constant scorn coming his way morph into bitterness in his personal life. By portraying Robinson as such an unwavering hero the film also keeps him at a distance.
What I Would Have Done Differently: I have no idea if Jackie Robinson was as great a man as he was a ball player, and maybe he was, and the warts-and-all-approach wouldn’t have been appropriate, but how about giving him one wart? The target audience for this film already knows the racism he faced is abhorrent, so it doesn’t necessarily make him look bad to let him be a little more human. And if not that, then maybe showed his inner thoughts/workings more and Branch Rickey’s a little less. Michael Mann’s Ali took you inside the mind of Will Smith’s champ and it would have been nice to get a little closer to the actual Robinson.