Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of Marlon Wallace and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WBOC.
Will Smith has been nominated twice before for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. The first was for Ali (2002) in which he played the real-life Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest athletes of all time. The second was for The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) in which he played the real-life Chris Gardner that really focused on the man chasing after a dream, while also focusing on the man’s relationship as a father. There’s been a lot of buzz that Smith will be nominated again for this role, which kind of combines his characters in both Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness.
Smith stars as Richard Williams, the father to Venus Williams and Serena Williams, the two greatest tennis players that the world has ever seen. Richard was their coach at first and basically the manager of their career. This film follows Richard, during the mid to early 1990’s, when he struggled to get them into the professional sport of tennis and nationally recognized as the best. It follows his tough and rigid training and his strong values as a father. He developed a plan, a business plan, when his daughters were little and he sticks to that plan no matter what. He’s a guy who grew up in the south prior to the Civil Rights Movement and how he navigates the world is informed by the racial abuse he obviously suffered.
Aunjanue Ellis (Lovecraft Country and When They See Us) co-stars as Oracene Price aka Brandy, the mother to Venus and Serena Williams, and the wife to Richard. She was a former nurse who had three daughters before marrying Richard, but, after hooking up with Richard and having Venus and Serena, she learned how to be a tennis coach too and helped Richard with his plan. She absolutely loves him, but she takes issues occasionally with his sternness and his single-mindedness or his dictatorship or authoritarianism in which he makes decisions by himself.
Seeing Richard and Brandy raise their daughters, working together or sometimes at odds, is this film at its height. The performances of Smith and Ellis opposite each other are superb and what is worth the price of admission. Smith himself is engaging and charming, as he always is. What I also appreciate is the fact that this film isn’t total hagiography, as what might be inferred from the title. Yes, the real-life Venus and Serena Williams are producers on this film, so whenever the real-life subjects have a hand in the creation of a biopic or even a documentary, some hagiography can seep in and dominate. There’s some of that here, but it’s not to the degree that felt distracting.
Earlier this year, Dwayne Johnson produced a TV series that was basically about his father called Young Rock (2021). From what’s been revealed about Johnson’s father, he seemed way more problematic than the father of Venus and Serena Williams. Yet, Johnson’s father is put on a pedestal that is way higher than the pedestal for Richard Williams. Here, Richard is revealed to be a flawed character. We see in one moment that he’s prone to violence, even gun violence. We even see in another that he might not have been a great husband and father to his previous wife and children from that previous marriage.
Saniyya Sidney (Hidden Figures and Fences) also co-stars as Venus Williams, the tennis phenom who trains with her father in Compton, California. She gets good grades and hangs out with her sisters at home, not getting into trouble or being pulled into the streets. What’s obvious is that this film is a sports film, not unlike many others. As such, an important aspect are the depictions of the game play. I’m not sure how good Sidney is at tennis. She did seem though as if she got some good training to pull off the numerous tennis scenes in this film.
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green (Joe Bell and Monsters and Men) crafts those numerous tennis scenes in ways that seems like maybe Sidney isn’t that great at tennis but the magic of framing and editing sells it more. However, he is able to make the scenes otherwise be thrilling or interesting. The interjection and running commentary from Smith’s character helps, but there were sequences, which is just the camera on the action and the cutting of the film that really punches up the game play.
Jon Bernthal (Ford v Ferrari and Fury) rounds out the cast as Rick Macci, the tennis coach in Florida who takes on Venus and Serena. He believes that Venus needs to compete in junior tennis matches in order to build up a profile, which is how most young tennis professionals made their careers. He clashes with Richard because Richard thinks that those junior tennis matches will burn out his daughters and steal their childhood. Richard reiterates that his daughters should have fun and not get burned out. Rick thinks that Richard is being too protective and is possibly stifling his daughters from fully pursuing their passion. He doesn’t agree with Richard’s plan or strategy. It becomes a compelling dramatic question of how a young athlete should regard their career.
Rated PG-13 for some violence, strong language, a sexual reference and brief drug references.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 18 mins.
In theaters and on HBO Max.
