“42”, as mosr of us know, were the numerals on the back of
the uniform worn by Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to be signed to
play on a major league baseball team. It is also the title of the film starring
Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford relating
the story of this dynamic ball player from his start with the Kansas City
Monarchs through the Montreal Royals until finally, in 1947, signing with the Brooklyn
Dodgers and becoming its starting first baseman that season. This is a movie,
unlike Django Unchained, which tells the plight, courage and fortitude of one
member of a minority and what it took for him to succeed and to become a lone
black player amidst major leagues 399 whites. The film, written and directed by
Brian Helgeland (“Mystic River”, “Blood Work”, “A Knight’s Tale”) holds the
viewer’s interest and attention for all of the 128 minutes of its running time
and keeps us involved throughout. For this writer the film was especially
meaningful for I lived in the Borough during the time in which this all took place and, as a young
boy, I watched from the Ebbett’s Field bleachers the players on the field as
they interacted with this new entry into the ballgame. Jackie Robinson, a four
star athlete from UCLA and a commissioned Army officer (court martialed for
refusing to move to the back of a bus) was the perfect man to, at 26, enter
upon the road to ending the bigotry that was, after all, so much a part of
America’s favorite sport at the time. Just as we today cannot imagine women not
being able to vote 100 years ago, so difficult is it for us to understand what
racism was in the 50’s and how shameful a legacy it left. If there is any
difficulty with the film, it is trying to depict its hero.as recognizable but
without it being a trite impersonation. Mr. Boseman is not a Robinson look
alike yet there are certain times, stances and camera shots that make his
portrayal quite believable. Harrison Ford, as Branch Rickey, the managing
partner of the group that owned the Dodgers, is a fine addition to the film.
Never too overly sentimental, the film does have its “Hollywood moments” but
they are few and far between. Suffice it to say that the women and non-baseball
fans in the audience seemed to enjoy the film as much or more than the rest of us. I give this
film 3 and ½ stars and recommend that it be seen by all who have a taste for
history and/or a strong liking for baseball. More than anything else it is the
story of adversity and how it was met head on by a strong willed and extraordinarily
self-controlled individual. The story of this man and who he was can best be
summarized by quoting the writer Bob Considine when he wrote “Jackie Robinson
was a credit to his race….the human race.”
