Finally, a movie that looks like it just might satisfy sports fans and Oscar voters.  Invictus, the new movie directed by Clint Eastwood, belongs to probably the saddest sub-section of sports movies there is: the rugby film. Furthermore, it’s a sweeping historical drama, not a rah-rah tearjerker (Hoosiers) or comedy (Slap Shot) that make up the more successful films about athletes.

Invictus seems like it’s playing its own game, however. For one, the driving force behind it is Eastwood, who not only directs great movies, but has a sure shot with those about sports (remember Million Dollar Baby, anyone?). And Invictus does seem to coming at the genre with a fresh, invigorating perspective. For one, it’s based on a fascinating true story (via the non-fiction book Playing The Enemy by John Carlin): Nelson Mandela, newly elected as President of South Africa, decides to use his nation’s passion for rugby to unite the populace torn asunder by apartheid. To this end, he pushes the South African team to win the 1995 World Cup Championship, hoping his people will be inspired by this unlikely gambit. Eastwood makes his take even more appealing by casting actors that one can believe in the roles. For one, Matt Damon – who plays South Africa’s rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar – is not only a great actor, but he managed to look pretty convincing in the rugby scene in The Departed, too. And of course, Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela is a lay-up – really, there aren’t many actors that have both the gravity and swing that he has to play a great man as anything other than a statue. With all these elements – and a great trailer to boot – we’re betting that Invictus just might be a contender when it kicks off in theaters come December 11^th.