'King Richard' is not the movie that Venus and Serena deserve
WB
A conundrum, I guess: You want to make a movie about Venus and Serena Williams, tennis legends who are important both on and off the court, but you struggle to think of many biopics about female athletes of color and worry about financing. In an ideal world, this project would be a no-brainer to make and sell, but no one said this was an ideal world. Then someone says “What if Will Smith played their father?” and suddenly there’s money here and the project works, and at the least there’s a chance to explore the benefits and potential detriments that came from Richard Williams’ strong personality and his shockingly prescient expectation that his daughters would be all-timers.
One of several problems with that is a movie, even one approaching two-and-a-half hours, can only cover so many real people, and “King Richard” ultimately feels like a story that’s not quite about anyone. Sure, the focus is on dad as he reminds his daughters (Saniyya Sidney plays Venus, who is a year older than Serena, played by Demi Singleton) to have fun and strives to keep the family’s focus on humility and education as much as tennis. First-time feature writer Zach Baylin allows for several coaches (played most prominently by scene-stealer Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn) to appreciate Richard’s work and then grow exhausted by his refusal to let anyone else make decisions.
But it feels like there’s more movie fighting to get in here, and “King Richard” refuses. Beyond a standard depiction of Venus being frustrated by Richard’s determination to minimize her time on the Junior circuit so as not to become burned out, the movie doesn’t really process the impact that Richard’s hard-headedness has on his daughters. Sidney and Singleton are both excellent, and it’s hard not to wish that this story revolved around the actual athletes (who come off as awesome, strong people), not the controversial dad who gave off-putting interviews but ultimately did help put his daughters in position to succeed. Aunjanue Ellis is also great as Oracene “Brandy” Williams, who tries to support her husband’s personality but eventually joins those who wish he’d do more listening and less talking.
And Smith? He’s fine. Part of the issue is “King Richard” grows tiresome with scene after scene of people saying Richard Richard Richard and director Reinaldo Marcus Green driving home the conflict between one man’s principles and everyone else trying to find their place in that universe of control. But it’s also that this narrative is also too limited to the period of getting the plane off the ground, as it were, while still not spending enough time detailing the honing of Venus and Serena’s skills. Just because we see training montages doesn’t mean we understand their talent or its growth, and ending the movie with Venus’ second-ever professional match (at just 14 years old) leaves so, so much uncovered. Like, you know, all of the rest of her career and Serena’s career and their achievements and influence and also racist commentary directed toward them and images of them. To say nothing of some more elements of Richard’s life and persona that would have made “King Richard” feel honest instead of edited to keep things sunny.
The Williams sisters certainly had a happy ending in the tennis world, and it’s nice to see how that all greatness started. But as sports movie or biopic or examination of race in America, “King Richard” settles for just OK.
C
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