When writing a review, one of the worst things is trying to think about what to say. I really don't have much to say about this movie. Perhaps I should first talk about the man this movie is trying to tell us about, Jackie Robinson.
Back in the 1940s, black people were not allowed to play baseball with white people. The mantra of the time was 'separate but equal' but the reality of it all was that blacks were given none of the advantages of life in the United States. It was a shameful time. Minorities played a huge role in helping to fight Hitler in World War II, but still any non-white people were looked down upon and were the subject of great hostility.
Much of the movie credits Brooklyn Dodgers' owner Branch Rickey for taking up the cause of integration in baseball. He wanted a black player to play for the Dodgers and he was fully aware the hostility and criticism he was going to get. He knew he was putting whatever player he found in personal danger and putting the hopes and dreams of an entire people upon his shoulders. It couldn't just be any player. It had to be someone of exceptional character.
That's when he found Jackie Robinson. To say Jackie Robinson was the best black baseball player in the Negro Leagues is an overstatement. There were several great players to choose from; not the least of them were Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and Roy Campanella. Robinson wasn't chosen because he was the best. He was chosen because he was a lieutenant in the army during World War II and served alongside white soldiers. He went to UCLA and went to school with white people. Most importantly, he had the fortitude and intelligence to know he can never fight back against all the hate being flung his way.
The movie focuses a lot on how Jackie Robinson through being an almost Christ-like human being was able to win over his teammates, the way he played won over the fans, and how inspirational his struggle was to other people of color.
Baseball is America. It is America's game not because it's the most popular sport, but because it reflects the best and the worst of what we are as a people. No matter the struggles America goes through, baseball has always gone on. When World War II took many of the best ballplayers in the Major Leagues to Japan and Germany, up popped the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and helped significantly in the fight for equality for women. It was people like Roberto Clemente who proved having fame and fortune can be used to better the lives of others. And of course Jackie Robinson exposed the underlying racial inequality of segregation and by bringing it all to light, helped start the healing process that continues today.
I totally recommend this movie, as well as the 1950 movie "The Jackie Robinson Story" starring the real Jackie Robinson.
May there always be baseball.
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