Invincible film review

certificate_PG

INVINCIBLE

America seems to have an inexhaustible supply of real life sporting stories that have served as the inspiration for numerous films. The one that prompted the genial Invincible is thirty years old and has been the source of several aborted productions. Now the stirring tale of Vince Papale, a Philadelphia bartender who in 1976 won a place on his beloved Philadelphia Eagles American Football team at the ripe old age of 30, has finally made it to the screen. It's a timeless tale, but one that benefits here from its nostalgic flavour.

Papale's story is well known to American Football fans. By their very nature sporting films rarely centre on heroic failures so making a film for which the facts are already known presents its own problems. With the outcome never in doubt, writer Brad Gann has chosen to make Invincible more a character study, focusing on Papale's modesty and steely determination. Mark Wahlberg embodies perfectly the quiet strength of Papale whose tough background, growing up in an impoverished and jobless Philadelphia, stood him in good stead when his opportunity belatedly presented itself.

There is a rugged authenticity to Wahlberg, one that commands your attention and belief. It can be hard for actors to convey with any conviction the attributes of a sportsman, but the lack of finesse Wahlberg has in common with Papale, who is shown in archive footage at the end, is more than compensated for in the spirit and endeavor they share.

Invincible, directed with a laudable restraint and beautifully photographed by Ericson Core, is as much about the passion Philadelphians have for their city as for their sporting teams. Papale serves in a small bar frequented by a tight knit circle of long time friends all of whom seek some respite from their harsh lives in each other's company. Papale's world suffers a double blow when his school teaching job is terminated and he comes home to find his wife of five years has left him, taking all the furniture and leaving him only with a note telling him he's a loser and his life will never amount to anything.