42 (film)

42 (film)

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42
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Brian Helgeland
Produced by	Thomas Tull
Written by	Brian Helgeland
Starring	Chadwick Boseman Harrison Ford Nicole Beharie Christopher Meloni Andre Holland Lucas Black Hamish Linklater Ryan Merriman
Music by	Mark Isham
Cinematography	Don Burgess
Editing by	Kevin Stitt Peter McNulty
Studio	Legendary Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	April 12, 2013 (2013-04-12)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40,000,000
Box office	$$53,753,511

42 is a 2013 biographical sports drama film written and directed by Brian Helgeland about the life of baseball player Jackie Robinson, who wore jersey number 42. The film stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson,^[1] Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher, John C. McGinley as Red Barber, T. R. Knight as Harold Parrott, Lucas Black as Pee Wee Reese and Nicole Beharie as Rachel Isum.^[2][3] 42 was released in North America on April 12, 2013.^[4]

Contents [hide] 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Marketing 5 Reception 6 Box office 7 Historical inaccuracy 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Plot

The film tells the story of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) and, under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), Robinson's signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African-American player to break the baseball color barrier. The story focuses mostly on the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season and somewhat on the 1946 season with the Montreal Royals. Jackie Robinson and his team stop by a gas station. Robinson is refused entry to the washroom but the team says they'll find another gas station so the attendant allows Robinson to use it. As Robinson comes out, a scout for the Dodgers approaches him and sends him to Brooklyn. He is offered a $600 contract and $3,500 signing bonus which Robinson accepts but he is told to control his temper if he wants to play. Robinson proposes to his girlfriend by phone. She accepts.

During Dodgers spring training, Robinson successfully makes it to the franchise farm team in Montreal. After a great season there and spring training in Panama, he advances to the Dodgers. Most of the team soon signs a petition stating they refuse to play with Robinson, but manager Leo Durocher (Christopher Meloni) insists the rookie will play for his team. Durocher is then suspended over an affair with a celebrity, leaving the Dodgers without a manager.

In a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Ben Chapman taunts Robinson, causing him to go back to the dugout and smash his bat to privately vent his anger at such abuse. With some encouragement from Rickey, Robinson then returns to the field and hits a single, steals second and third base, and scores the winning run while his teammates defend him. Furthermore, Chapman is pressured by his team to placate the ensuing media hostility for his behavior, posing with Robinson for newspapers and magazine photos. Later, Robinson's teammate, Pee Wee Reese, comes to particularly understand the pressure Robinson is facing, and makes a public show of solidarity.

Robinson's home run against a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who had earlier hit him in the head helps clinch the National League pennant for the Dodgers, sending them to the World Series. In the concluding notes, Rickey, Robinson and many of his supportive comrades went on to have distinguished careers in the sport including inductions into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as other African Americans joined the Major Leagues themselves.

[edit] Cast

• Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson
• Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey
• Andre Holland as Wendell Smith
• Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher
• John C. McGinley as Red Barber
• Lucas Black as Pee Wee Reese
• Alan Tudyk as Ben Chapman
• Nicole Beharie as Rachel Isum Robinson
• C. J. Nitkowski as Dutch Leonard^[5]
• Brett Cullen as Clay Hopper
• Ryan Merriman as Dixie Walker
• T. R. Knight as Harold Parrott
• Hamish Linklater as Ralph Branca
• Max Gail as Burt Shotton

Former minor league player Jasha Balcom served as a stuntman for Boseman in some of the film's scenes.^[6]

[edit] Production

The film was filmed primarily in Macon, Georgia, Birmingham, Alabama and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Some interior scenes were shot at Atlanta Film Studios Paulding County in Hiram, Georgia.^[7]

[edit] Marketing

The theatrical trailer was shown with screenings of Trouble with the Curve, another baseball-themed film from Warner Bros., Broken City, Gangster Squad, Django Unchained, Olympus Has Fallen, and Zero Dark Thirty.

[edit] Reception

42 has received positive reviews from critics, as it currently holds a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 115 reviews. The consensus states: "42 is an earnest, inspirational, and respectfully told biography of an influential American sports icon, though it might be a little too safe and old-fashioned for some." Richard Roeper stated "This is a competent but mostly unexceptional film about a most extraordinary man."^[8] Lisa Kennedy, of the Denver Post, lauded the film, saying "This story inspires and entertains with a vital chapter in this nation's history."^[9] Sean CW Korsgaard hailed the film as "the best baseball movie in decades, maybe since Eight Men Out, maybe since Pride of the Yankees – and in terms of being a Jackie Robinson movie, it's no small thing when I say that not only does 42 not miss the mark, not only did it score a base hit, but it struck a genuine home run."^[10] Conversely, Peter Rainer, of The Christian Science Monitor, criticized the film as "TV-movie-of-the-week dull and Robinson's ordeal is hammered home to the exclusion of virtually everything else in his life."^[11]

The movie achieved the rare "A+" CinemaScore rating and garnered a 63 on Metacritic, indicating "generally positive" reception.

[edit] Box office

The film earned an estimated $27.3 million for its opening weekend, the best premiere for a baseball-themed film in Hollywood history.^[12]

[edit] Historical inaccuracy

The scene of Robinson breaking his bat in the dugout tunnel is not founded in fact. Both Rachel Robinson and Ralph Branca, film consultant and Dodger pitcher in the dugout that day, say it didn't happen. As does director Helgeland, whose justification for inclusion was that he felt "there was no way Robinson could have withstood all that abuse without cracking at least once, even if it was in private."^[13]