King Richard (2021) Warner Bros./Drama RT: 144 minutes Rated PG-13 (some violence, strong language, a sexual reference, brief drug references) Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green Screenplay: Zach Baylin Music: Kris Bowers Cinematography: Robert Elswit Release date: November 19, 2021 (US) Cast: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Dylan McDermott, Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew, Daniele Lawson, Layla Crawford, Andy Bean, Kevin Dunn. Box Office: $15.1M (US)/$39.4M (World)
Rating: ***
Contrary to how it sounds, King Richard is not a Shakespeare adaptation or a sequel to the John Goodman comedy King Ralph. It’s actually a compelling blend of three genres- biopic, family drama and sports movie. Will Smith (in serious mode) stars as Richard Williams, the father of tennis sensations Venus and Serena Williams. Immediately, I find it interesting that director Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men) chose to focus on him rather than the two girls who rocked the tennis world before they were old enough to drive. Could the fact that Smith co-produced King Richard through his production company Westbrook have something to do with it?
To be fair, Smith delivers a great performance as the hard-driven patriarch who expects nothing less than excellence from his family, especially daughters Venus (Sidney, Fences) and Serena (Singleton, Godfather of Harlem). He’s had a plan for their lives since before they were born. They’re both going to be tennis superstars, period. It doesn’t matter that they’re two black girls from Compton with a low-income background. Richard works two jobs to help his family of seven get by and still finds the time to coach his girls on the finer points of the game. He’d like for them to have a proper coach, but can’t afford it on what he and his wife Brandy (Ellis, Men of Honor) make at their jobs. He tries to convince multiple tennis dignitaries to train Venus and Serena for free, presenting them with a brochure outlining the future he has planned for them, but no one bites.
It’s a long, hard road to the pro circuit. There are many bumps and road blocks along the way. When one coach, Paul Cohen (Goldwyn, Ghost), agrees to do the job, he only wants to work with Venus, not Serena. It’s okay, Richard tells his dejected daughter, he has a plan for her too. King Richard follows Venus from the Juniors all the way to her first professional match (the Bank of the West Classic) where she ultimately faced off against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
Although the focus of King Richard is questionable, Green gets a lot right starting with NOT painting Richard Williams as a saintly father with no bad qualities. This is one majorly flawed individual. He’s a hustler who talks a big game and doesn’t listen to anybody else’s opinions. His is the only one that matters. As a result, he makes a lot of bad choices. He makes public his negative feelings about tennis parents (they should be shot). He has a tendency to alienate people for real or perceived racism. He leaves his wife out of big decisions involving the girls. He’s angry, prideful and obstinate. It’s all a façade to hide feelings of vulnerability and helplessness. He wants to be seen as larger than life, but gets knocked down (both figuratively and literally) time and time again.
In short, Richard isn’t always a likable person, At times, you wonder if he’s promoting himself rather than his daughters. And just when you think he’s awful, he gets cut down to size by Brandy who isn’t afraid to call him out on his BS. Both Smith and Ellis offer up powerful performances, especially in their scenes together away from the tennis action. The actresses playing the Williams sisters are also quite good. There’s one scene where Venus shifts into intense mode during a match. You can see it in the narrowing of Sidney’s eyes and the accompanying scowl. Singleton has some effective scenes as the girl trying to make her own identity far (but not too far) from her big sister’s shadow.
Another admirable quality of King Richard is its realistic depiction of life in the hood circa 1991. It’s a dangerous place ruled by violent thugs. Scenes of a sudden drive-by shooting and Richard being assaulted by gangbangers after standing up for one his girls are very effective. At the same time, he tends to shy away from (or altogether avoid) the subject of racism at the matches and country clubs. You’d think the rich white people would have a stronger reaction to black people showing up where they “don’t belong”, but it never gets worse than some bewildered stares. If you’re going to tell V&S’s story, tell it all.
The tennis scenes in King Richard are pretty well executed. Green and editor Pamela Martin keep it simple; they don’t go crazy with wild overediting and fancy cinematography. The film is compelling throughtout; it’s long, but never boring. I wish it had focused more on the sisters though. I want to know about them. Maybe some filmmaker will do a movie about Venus and Serena and their complicated relationship on and off the court. For now, King Richard will do.
