King Richard (2021)

king richard movie poster Go ahead and now give the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor to Will Smith (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). It might not be a far-off assumption as we are on the cusp of Oscar season. I would wait to hedge my bets in Vegas entirely, but it might be worth taking a flyer without knowing much about the other players who might be up for the award. Smith gives the best performance in his storied career as Richard, the father of (then) future tennis greats Venus Williams and Serena Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (Joe Bell, Monsters and Men) King Richard.

King Richard excels at the first, part biopic, part sports movie, and falters at the latter. As I watched this movie, I was trying to think of a tennis movie I had seen before and hadn’t liked. While I have not seen many, the two most recent ones (Borg Vs. McEnroe, Battle of the Sexes) were riveting displays of on-court action. Even a lesser film, such as Wimbledon, was believable when its characters were on the court. In terms of the actual tennis in King Richard, a much-better-skilled cinematographer or CGI Specialist could have lifted this movie to the likes of the three mentioned above if that was the movie’s goal. I wouldn’t get as far as to say King Richard was more a movie based around sports (such as The Blind Side) than a sports movie itself, but this is much more a character study of Richard Williams than about his two rising tennis stars daughters.

Richard has been, at times, a polarizing individual in the world of pro tennis. While I didn’t know much about him before watching this movie, I knew he was in the spotlight much more than any other parent of a professional tennis player. Perhaps it was because he had two daughters who sometimes competed against one another in the most competitive tournaments in the world. Or maybe it was because his daughters were African American in a sport that white people heavily dominated. Or perhaps it was just because of his personality. There’s a good chance that all three (and likely many other factors) played a role. In either regard, he was a central figure in his daughters’ lives and the tennis world. King Richard portrays him as egocentric and stubborn and a loving father who is determined to create a quieter and safer life for his family, one that is both free from racism and gives girls an equal chance of success as boys.

king richard movie still

Before they were born, he had a plan for Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and her 15-month younger sister Serena (Demi Singleton). They were each going to win Wimbledon and hold the spot as the top-ranked tennis player in the world. While his dream was admirable, it had flaws. Richard believed his way was always the best way, which made him a complicated man, at times, to deal with. There are periods when he feels that he has never received the respect he deserves or that the world is out to get him. It can make him standoffish, almost to the point where it doesn’t matter how good his teenage daughters might be because of how hard he is to deal with. However, his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis – The Birth of a Nation, The Help) does have a calming influence over him, as she believes in his plan as much as he does. She often reassures him to trust the process and to try to see the good in all human beings.

The film never crosses the threshold of good to great. It’s an entertaining movie that many should see, including all tennis fans or fans of the Williams sisters. However, the film wanted to be more serious than it ended up being. It is very much a drama. While it excels at parts, it needed to dig deeper into the surface. By this, I mean that Richard did some pretty audacious things throughout the movie. I won’t give anything away with the specifics, but some are outlandish and taken with a grain of salt by the other parties involved. I wanted Green to get deeper into the complexity of Richard’s character rather than just leaving everything just above the surface. We were able to see his drive and reasoning in full effect. But I wanted to see more pushback when his demands were considered unreasonable or unjust. Instead, we received awkward glances from the parties involved before an offscreen conclusion led us to the movie’s next act. Green pulled away when many of us wanted to see him dig in deeper. Inspirational, tender, and personable, King Richard has a lot of good going for it. However, it shied away from some of the more serious subject matter. I don’t want to call it uncourageous, but it lacked some substance that would have allowed it to stand apart from a standard cookie-cutter Disney-like film.

Smith was fantastic as the movie’s lead. He portrayed Richard with a larger-than-life persona most of the time as he was pedaling pamphlets about his daughter to whichever tennis coach was willing to give him the time of day, as well as some who were not. While playing a character who, far more often than not, would even acknowledge someone with an opinion different from his own, he did so in a way that rarely got angry when challenged. He was demanding and annoying but still likable (at least with his portrayal in the movie). And he was very much loved by his daughters, whom he always put first. He had all of Richard’s mannerisms down perfectly.

Still, he excelled when he was saying nothing at all, as if he was permanently caught in introspection, such in a scene when he wants to protect a mentally crumbling Venus but isn’t in any position to do so. This movie would have failed without Smith, but it’s an Oscar contender for Best Actor with him as the lead. Let’s hope he’s back from (most of the last decade), which included movies such as After Earth, Collateral Beauty, Focus, Gemini Man, and others, though he did have 2015’s impressive Concussion. The rest of the films in that span (which do include Men in Black 3 and Bad Boys For Life), while earning lots of money and audience praise, didn’t take an actor of his caliber to be successful, though it is clear to everyone that the box office draw was because of him.

Tony Goldwyn (Ghost, Kiss the Girls) and Jon Bernthal (Widows, Wind River) star as two of the girls’ coaches at different periods of their young lives. Goldwyn’s Cohen sees the potential after a single session and takes Venus under his wing. He has far less tolerance for Richard’s antics and the side coaching Venus that directly contradicts his instruction. In contrast, Bernthal’s Rick Macci is more personable and willing to work towards compromises with Richard. Both are great. Bernthal is better as he continues his excellent recent run of movies.

Finally, Venus and Serena have three older sisters. They were a relatively integral part of the movie. While we only learn a little about them individually, they had almost as many scenes as Brandy. I had wondered for the longest time when seeing them in one of their boxes at a Grand Slam final why none was successful in the sport. While their physique had yet quite to match that of Venus and Serena, I would have still thought there might have been enough talent for them to at least be recognized. After researching (thanks to Wikipedia), I learned that the trio were half-sisters of the tennis sensations. However, I had just realized when doing additional research before watching King Richard that the sisters weren’t Richard’s biological daughters. Instead, they were children from Brandy’s previous marriage. This person was not seen in the film and was only referenced on a tiny occasion.

Plot 8/10
Character Development 7.5/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 9.5/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Directing 7.5/10
Cinematography 7/10
Sound 7.5/10
Hook and Reel 9/10
Universal Relevance 9.5/10
80.5%

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