Nelson Mandela had a rare gift which enabled him to be the greatest politician of the modern era: a willingness to listen to and understand the fears of his oppressors. He learned Afrikaans on Robben Island, and not only conversed with his guards in their language, but read Africaaner history, poetry and philosophy. When the time came to negotiate the transition to majority rule, he knew that what the Boer elite feared most was not the loss of control, but the loss of identity. Thus one of the most iconic images of that heady, exuberant time was the newly elected President wearing the green and gold shirt of the Springboks, the team which exemplified everything about white superiority.

This is the central event in Clint Eastwood’s film. We are reminded that South African rugby had suffered badly from being left out in the cold for so long, and that the vast majority of the population preferred soccer anyway. Using events before and during 1995’s Rugby World Cup as his narrative arc, Eastwood reveals the importance of Mandela’s belief in reconciliation as the foundation of the fledgling rainbow nation. He also understood the manipulation of symbols. Televised to millions around the world, Mandela waved to the predominantly white crowd and they chanted his name in return. In the townships a previously indifferent population now hung onto every rugby move.

Crucially, the action on the pitch is filmed convincingly. Eastwood probably realised that he hadn’t a hope of explaining the rules to his core audience, but the sheer physicality of the game is caught well, as are the dressing room scenes. Matt Damon does an exemplary job as captain François Pienaar, accent included. As Mandela, Morgan Freeman has captured the halting mode of speech, but to my mind does not inhabit the character so much as impersonate it.

This is the very embodiment of the ‘well made film’. The script combines the delivery of information with characterisation, the acting is solid, the production design accurate. What, perhaps, is lacking is that final extra spark to fully bring a picture to life. Eastwood, one fears, is slowly assuming the mantle of Richard Attenborough.