King Richard movie review: Will Smith takes a classic underdog tale and makes it better in this Oscar-nominated turn

Language: English At one point in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard, we are told about the dazzling stakes of the film. “It’s (professional tennis) like learning to play the violin. Even families with unlimited financial resources to achieve the kind of success and mastery you’re talking about… it’s like telling people you have the next two Mozarts in your house.” A tennis coach says this to Richard Williams (Will Smith), who wants to give his daughters Venus and Serena a realistic shot at turning professional. As we all know, Venus and Serena Williams went on to become the most successful athletes to have ever set foot on a tennis court, and this is exactly where we realise how unlikely their success might have seemed at the time.   Professional tennis is an expensive sport. The gear, the exacting conditions for training, the expert supervision, the business side of things, which is as crucial as a tennis player’s form on the court, there are many, many balls to juggle. For the Williams sisters, born and brought up in the working class neighbourhood of Compton (California), professional tennis was probably as distant a dream as a trip to Mars. There are so many variables and detours that it can almost seem foolish to constantly keep repeating: “We’ve got to stick to the plan.” It is like saying if we start learning to dribble tomorrow, we might become Lionel Messi one day. As if any plan is going to work.   The plot of King Richard can seem almost banal from the outset, a classic underdog tale that has been depicted in nearly all possible variations for decades. Add to that a star like Will Smith and a studio like Warner Bros, and one almost gets the feeling that the burden of the cross would be too heavy to bear. And yet, Green’s film is as light-footed as any sports drama/biopic you might have ever seen.   King Richard launches us into the universe where Will Smith brings his deft persona from The Pursuit of Happyness  (2006) – a film where he plays a broker whose job is to convince rich folk to invest in his wealth management firm. Even here, Smith as Richard Williams is trying to convince the wealthy (mostly white) people of California to bet on his two (by his own admission) tennis prodigies — Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). Few actors walk the line of desperation and ludicrous self belief like Smith does so it is not surprising that he us turned down by nearly everyone he meets. Smith can make the corniest mantra seem like the most sensible thing ever said in the history of mankind. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” Richard says at one point, and it is echoed several times over the film.   Green’s film, essentially a portrait of a sports Dad or a showbiz parent, something we have seen over and over again, gives us a deceptively nuanced portrait of a man determined to succeed through his children. You can see Smith straddling that line with élan, where he is the ruthless, dictatorial father from time to time, and yet we also get bits and pieces of information about how he became this hardened figure through the years spent getting beaten on the streets, battling failure, and fending for dignity.

Even if it is an affectionate portrait of Richard Williams in the end, it never feels hagiographic in any way.

And much of that is to Will Smith’s wattage as an actor, and his sincerity to fully commit to the ‘humanity’ of his part, even if it means farting his way out of an indecent meeting with a sports management firm after witnessing Venus’ domination of the Juniors’ tour. A lesser film might have demonised the sports agent descending on a sports talent like a vulture, and yet over here, Green keeps it as matter of fact as possible. When Richard bows out of the meeting, you do not even know what upset him so much. and still one can relate to the sentiment behind his actions: the fear of how the talents of his daughters will ultimately be used to feed a money-making machinery with little regard for the well-being of his daughters in the long run. The scene ends with him telling his daughters eating ‘free’ burgers at the poolside: “Nothing is for free. Never take anything from anybody for free. Everything’s got hooks in it.” Some might call him overbearing, while others might say that it’s Richard’s paranoia as a constant failure, looking out for his children. Will Smith’s performance is superbly calibrated to show us both sides. [caption id=“attachment_10488911” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Still from King Richard[/caption] Green’s film also upends narrative cliches, in the manner he abruptly slams the brakes in the second hour, making it seem like the film is going around in circles without moving forward. Much like Richard, who pulls Venus and Serena out of junior tournaments, fearing she might burnout even before she turns pro (like Jennifer Capriati. we are told). It leans into Richard’s radical decision to make both his daughters retain their sanity, by having them undergo training with Rick Macci (an immensely likeable Jon Bernthal), while also going about their studies and living the ‘normal’ teenager’s life. It is a decision that seems cruel at the moment, but has the wisdom of someone who has seen enough failure. Three years of saying no to sponsorship deals and media appearances, especially in a circuit where the margins are as thin as professional tennis, seems like a huge gamble. However, as Richard puts it: “Stick to the plan.” According to him, professional success is a continuous process, and the process is the reward.     Instead of hinging on a make-or-break match, the film steadily builds towards its climax, ending unexpectedly. In the second hour, the film trains its focus on Venus by relegating Serena to the margins, because it is the sensible thing to do narratively. Retaining its WB flavour that could very well have turned it into something bland, Green’s film captures the essence of the Williams household in broad strokes without ever doing it the disrespect of making it seem too ‘easy’ or exploitative of their struggles. This is a fairy tale after all, and Green does well to sprinkle some magic dust on top of it. King Richard is now playing in Indian cinemas. Rating: ****

Tatsam Mukherjee has been working as a film journalist since 2016. He is based out of Delhi NCR. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.