King Richard

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew, Danielle Lawson, Layla Crawford, Erika Ringor, Dylan McDermott, Andy Bean, Kevin Dunn, Christopher Wallinger, Chase Del Rey, Judith Chapman, Jessica Wacnik, Kaitlyn Christian, Marcela Zacarías, Rich Sommer
Running Time: 145 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

About halfway through King Richard we start getting glimpses of a side to Richard Williams that's more in line with public perception, fair or not. Something other than the hard-working father who coached his daughters Venus and Serena from the streets of Compton into the annals of tennis history. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green is carefully juggles the different facets of this man, while also setting the film up as a classic sports underdog story that in lesser hands could have been indistinguishable from the rest. 

Richard's most definitely a character, with the biggest surprise being how this does go into the weeds regarding the real person's personality flaws. So even as an inspirational, uplifting rags to riches tale co-produced by the Williams family, his moral shortcomings aren't ignored so much as sensibly repurposed for the type of project this is. By at least attempting to identify the source of his irritating, controlling actions, the lighter, restrained moments play better in retrospect, making it easier to develop a begrudging respect for what he accomplished, regardless of his controversial methods. 

Will Smith's terrific as the polarizing Williams who, with all his faults, certainly did something right. Then he couldn't get himself out of the way, before eventually coming around and letting go, as it's told here. The actor succeeds in making Richard endearingly unlikable, softening him just enough that the dedicated hustling and love for his daughters ultimately outweigh his prickly behavior. That it's more about him than the girls will be a criticism, but his story is theirs and vice versa, with the young actresses given a real chance to shine

As biopics go, this isn't an egregious truth offender, while also being the only good tennis movie we've seen by a large margin, getting a lot of tiny details about the sport and period right. Concessions can always be made with story and character, but the biggest relief is Green's concerted effort to avoid missteps in accuracy, allowing viewers to more easily engage with the world it immerses us in. 

It's the early 90's and Richard Williams (Smith) lives in Compton, California with his wife, Oracene "Brandy" Price (Aunjanue Ellis), three step-daughters and two daughters, Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton), whom he aspires to turn into pro tennis players. Having laid out a plan for their success very early on, he and Brandy coach them on the local public courts while working at night.  After distributing brochures and videotapes in an effort to get the girls professionally coached, Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) agrees to take only Venus on for free, leaving Serena to continue training with her mom. 

After Richard's steadfast refusal to let his daughters play the junior circuit causes a split with Paul, coach Rick Massi (Jon Bernthal) enters the picture, agreeing to take both girls for free at his Florida academy with intentions of having them turning pro. Richard's intensifying objections to having them play juniors (a must to move to the next level) and his ubiquitous media presence soon make Rick wonder what he's gotten into. They clearly have the talent, but in envisioning a life for his daughters Richard could barely dream of experiencing as a kid, the same methods he used to get these girls where they are is now becoming a detriment. With their careers in danger of being grounded before they officially start, he'll need to start making some compromises, trusting them to succeed on their own terms rather than his.

Smith shows multiple dimensions to Richard that overlap more often than not. His determination to keep these girls off the rough streets of Compton and focused entirely on their schoolwork and tennis is by far his most admirable quality, occasionally even risking his life to do it. With a graying beard and unsteady gait, Smith plays him as an unathletic, permanently older guy you'd never know stepped on a tennis court in his life, if not for the warm-up jacket and shorts. And it works perfectly because that's who he was, gaining his knowledge not from playing, but studying books and magazines about the game. 

"Fail to plan and plan to fail" is the sign Richard hangs at the courts during their practices, remaining tirelessly committed to having them break down the doors long closed to young black female players, fully aware and prepared to shield them from the anticipated blowback and discrimination. So if Venus and Serena were a ticket for him to get rich as some have accused, he sure picked the hardest and whitest sport for them to break into. They'd inevitably be viewed as outsiders while battling a major headwind, which Richard uses as motivation to justify his often stubborn approach.

Zach Baylin's script goes further than expected in depicting Richard as press hungry, selfish and at one early low point, potentially violent. It's even acknowledged that he abandoned his kids from another marriage, a detail no one probably expected to be mentioned in this film at all. Left by his father while being beaten by white men as a kid, he swore he'd be an entirely different parent, and it's the fear of being viewed as a failure that's pushing him to tighten the controls on Venus and Serena. 

Once the girls do get professional coaching and it's time for Richard to hang back a bit is when he  becomes more overbearing, weary of them suffering the same consequences as a troubled Jennifer Capriati (Jessica Wacnik) or be taken advantage of by venomous sponsors seeing dollar signs. If Smith's turn is the headline, the most overlooked performance comes from Aunjanue Ellis, who as Brandy has a ferocious kitchen scene opposite him where Richard gets a harsh reality check, confronted head-on about how his own perceived failings could now be sabotaging these girls. 

Since Venus' rapid ascent comes first, it's almost odd seeing the younger Serena as a supporting player in her big sister's rise, knowing how dominant she'll eventually become. As Venus, newcomer Saniyya Sidney is completely charming and believable both on court and off, depicting a young teen who takes her newfound success in stride, realizing her dad's antics come with the territory. And while a double was used for some of the playing scenes, she still looks, acts and moves like a prodigy on the court, a far cry from all previous tennis films where the characters look uncomfortable even holding a racquet, much less swinging it properly. That watching them feels like you're catching glimpses of Venus and Serena in their formative stages is just about the highest compliment these actresses can get, nailing the big make-or-break aspect of the film.

Tony Goldwyn is especially strong as the veteran instructor getting push back at every turn from Richard until finally throwing in the towel. But it's Bernthal as the wacky, charismatic Rick Massi who steals the show as the larger than life personality guiding the girls while patiently handling their father, whose walls he starts to break down just a bit. There's also a few, fun era-specific cameos from tennis legends like Vic Braden (Kevin Dunn), John McEnroe (Christopher Wallinger), Pete Sampras (Chase Del Rey) and Bud Collins (Brad Greenquist) that serve their purpose and are cleverly sprinkled in.

The recreation of Venus' match with top-seeded Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (Marcela Zacarías) at the 1994 Bank of the West Classic in Oakland that closes the film isn't entirely predictable, especially for fans who may not even remember exactly what happened or how. It runs longer than necessary, delaying the inspirational ending that follows, but Green does enough right with the latter to avoid clobbering us over the head with its message, which feels earned. 

This has to be one of the few sports movies that strangely generates much of its third act suspense from the monetary value of an endorsement deal. Of course, it's more than that, entirely emblematic of a father's fight to have these girls seen for what they're worth, as players and people. Just don't tell him any of this was "incredible" or impossible." His plan worked, and while we can't say for sure whether Venus or Serena could have achieved the exact same results without it, they were the ones who finished what he started.