42

“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.”