Oracene, in turn, uses those videos to teach Serena, who is devastated that she won’t get the same professional training. Richard accompanies Venus to the country club and records everything she learns with a camcorder. Venus’ coach, Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), will only agree to train one girl for free, not both. This point becomes especially evident in a moment where the film contrasts the training of young Venus and Serena. Ellis handles this challenge better than her leading man, having built a career on doing more with less (which is part of the reason her performance in episode seven of Lovecraft Country feels so revelatory). The paint-by-numbers script, penned by Zach Baylin, does not provide Richard Williams with an interior life so much as a sequence of events to which he reacts. Will Smith’s (left) take as Richard Williams doesn’t quite jibe with reality, but more importantly, with the rest of the film and its bend-over-backward effort to soften Richard. They both bring an easy, uncomplicated innocence to the screen, depicting the girls the Williams sisters have always maintained they are: bouncy, smart and unafraid to challenge their father. Sidney and Singleton are a delight on screen - their tennis skills, particularly their ability to match the Williams sisters’ style of play, are impressive. Enter Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). Richard has a plan: He and his wife Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis) will add two more children to their family, and those children will grow up to be tennis prodigies who shake up the world. And yet Smith’s starring role may be the weakest part of the film.ĭirected by Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard focuses on the early years of the tennis careers of Venus and Serena Williams, from their days and nights training on the cracked and leaf-filled surfaces of Compton, California, municipal courts to Venus’ professional debut. The movie, now available on HBO Max and in theaters, is obviously meant to be award catnip for Smith and a cinematic crowning for Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |