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INVICTUS Clearly, there's no shortage of stories to relate about Nelson Mandela. Why, then, did Clint Eastwood choose one that forces the celebrated leader to go MIA in his own saga? Second only to the upcoming Nine as the biggest disappointment of the holiday season, Invictus represents a rare misstep for the iconic filmmaker, who's been on a tear lately with the stellar likes of Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima and last year's Gran Torino. But Invictus, sad to say, finds the prolific 79-year-old merely coasting for more Oscar gold, tackling the sort of safe, sanitized fare that used to attract stodgy filmmakers like Richard Attenborough on a regular basis. Simplifying complicated South African issues to the level of a Berenstain Bears storybook, the movie focuses on the initial years of the presidency of Mandela (portrayed by Morgan Freeman in a competent if uninvolving performance), who emerged from decades in prison bent not on revenge against the whites who oppressed him but instead seeking unity in this post-apartheid South Africa. Finding resistance from both sides of the racial divide, the saintly leader decides to use the sport of rugby as Ground Zero for solidarity, working with the captain (a functional Matt Damon) of the country's mostly white team to build national pride by taking them all the way to the 1995 World Cup Championship game. The first half of Invictus is the superior portion, since Mandela is front and center for most of the running time: The politics may be spotty and the Obama comparisons may or may not be intentional ("One day on the job and they're already attacking him!" bellows one supporter), but at least some human dynamics are at play. Unfortunately, the second part devolves into a typical sports drama focusing on an underdog team battling its way through incredible odds, and this narrative direction forces Mandela to remain on the sidelines of the movie itself. Relegated to the role of cheerleader -- and afforded only an occasional camera shot showing him beaming with pleasure -- Nelson Mandela may have won an election but here suffers a defeat at the hands of formula filmmaking. **
IT'S COMPLICATED After the triumph of Julie & Julia, Meryl Streep heads back to the kitchen for It's Complicated, an erratic comedy in which she plays Jane, a successful baker and restaurateur who, a decade after divorcing Jake (Alec Baldwin), finds herself cast in the role of the "other woman" once she embarks on an affair with her remarried ex. Writer-director Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give) surprisingly goes too easy on the character of Jake, a decision that leaves a bad taste and drains some of the fun out of this otherwise agreeable (if rarely uproarious) bauble. But Streep's comic chops remain strong, and the film gets a significant boost from the presence of Steve Martin as a sensitive architect who finds himself drawn to Jane. **1/2
THE LOVELY BONES Many fans of Alice Sebold's best-selling novel aren't happy, but moviegoers who haven't read the book and accept director Peter Jackson's picture on its own terms (which, ultimately, is how any artistic interpretation should be judged) will be greeted with a powerful viewing experience, a rueful, meditative piece that makes some missteps (particularly toward the end) but on balance treats the heavy topic with the proper degrees of respect and responsibility. In a role far more demanding than her breakthrough part in Atonement, Saoirse Ronan plays Susie Salmon, a young girl living in '70s suburbia with her loving family. One day after school, quiet neighbor George Harvey (a chilling Stanley Tucci) tricks her into his underground lair, where he then rapes and murders her. (Some have complained about Jackson's decision to not show the sexual assault and slaying. I for one applaud his choice; are these critics -- voyeurs? -- saying that the inherent implications aren't horrific enough on their own?) Now stranded in some sort of celestial limbo, Susie looks down as her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg) searches for the killer while her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz) tries to hold the family together. Writing with his Lord of the Rings collaborators, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, Jackson finds a fanciful way to realize the otherworldly visions in Sebold's story without ever losing sight of the tragedy grounded at the center of the tale. Except for the disastrous comic interludes with Susie's Grandma Lynn (I had no idea Susan Sarandon could ever be this bad), the earthbound sequences are somber and often emotionally overwhelming, whether concentrating on Susie's regrets over all the things she'll never get to experience or following Jack as his all-consuming anguish repeatedly gets him into trouble. Jackson loses his storytelling grip toward the end -- a plot device stolen from Ghost doesn't quite come off -- but he never loses his compassion. The Lovely Bones may not exactly follow its literary antecedent, but I have to believe they share the same beating heart. ***
