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| Harrison Ford and Nicole Beharie star in "42" |
Sharing movie houses with expanding arthouse hits like "The Place Beyond the Pines," "Trance" and "To the Wonder," baseball biopic "42" might not be the most visually striking or thought-provoking film worthy of a Friday night at the cinema this month. The film is exactly what it aims to be, however—a crowd-pleaser with mass appeal. Writer-director Brian Helgeland has a successful past as a screenwriter, winning an Oscar for "L.A. Confidential" and earning a second nomination for "Mystic River." As a director, his most successful film to date is "A Knight's Tale," a lightweight but stylish starring vehicle for the late Heath Ledger. "42" is a handsome film that, while failing to reinvent the inspirational sports film genre, makes for a well spent two hours looking at one of baseball's most important historical figures.
