Photo Courtesy of MARCA
“King Richard,” a story following the lives of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, was released on Friday, Nov. 19. Though only earning $5.7 million in its opening weekend from the box office, the movie was also released on HBO Max and has been receiving glowing reviews and plenty of Oscar buzz.
The movie plays an interesting role by spinning the narrative to be told from their father Richard Williams’ eyes. In fact, the film opens with Richard Williams (Will Smith) attempting to convince several tennis coaches to take on his daughters while explaining the 85-page plan he made for their future careers. The struggles of finding the opportunities that the incredible talents of the two girls deserve in a predominantly white and rich sport are overcome only by Richard Williams’ borderline obsessive persistence, and Smith is brilliant in portraying that.
Though Smith is absolutely successful in pulling off the titular character, the performances by Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams, Demi Singleton as Serena Williams and Aunjanue Ellis as their mom Brandi Williams, are equally as phenomenal and can neither be overlooked nor overstated. The simultaneous ambition and hysterical fun within their families demonstrates the duality of their positions as both children and professionals, as well as the difficulty of maintaining that balance.
There is a plethora of films in the last decade or two that get their inspiration from real events or are marketed as being based on true stories. After a while, this genre can seem tired and beaten down, but “King Richard” seems to inject a life into this particular story that justifies its creation and then some. In fact, it seems almost unbelievable that this story had yet to be told before.
Both Venus and Serena Williams are still playing tennis professionally today and are internationally known as being some of the best tennis players in history, not to mention the amount of world records they’ve broken, both individually and as a team. Their incredible skill and dedication is undeniable, but even the players themselves attribute their success to Richard Williams as a coach, as a manager and most importantly as a father.
The film’s climax is a match between 14-year-old Venus Williams and the No. 1 player in the world at the time, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, at the 1994 Bank of the West Classic. The tension within these 20 minutes is palpable and it eventually leads to Venus Williams’ loss. Though this may seem an odd way to end the story on paper, it symbolizes something much greater than a failure. Venus Williams’ very presence at her first professional match and her ability to play against such an esteemed player shows the end of her father’s story and the beginning of hers. His goal from the very beginning of the aforementioned opening scene was to get his daughters through the metaphorical door, and the cheers that follow Venus Williams’ exit from the match reflect her success even through her loss.
