Although the title of this feature film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, Joe Bell) makes the protagonist a king, King richard does not pay into hagiography. The scenario, the first that Zach Baylin signs, tries rather to seek the balance between the exploits of a man who could be qualified as visionary (everything he planned has come true) and the darker side of ‘a being obsessed with his convictions.
The career of Richard Williams (Will Smith), father of sisters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton), two great tennis champions, is thus told from a family point of view. The success of the two youngest is presented here as the fruit of a collective work in which the three older sisters also participated, without forgetting their mother, wonderfully interpreted by Aunjanue Ellis.
Obviously, the main focus is on the one who conceived his plan with the firm intention of getting his family out of Compton, this neighborhood of Los Angeles deemed “sensitive”. The two players have also started playing tennis on the shabby courts of the neighborhood, at a time when there was still very little talk of diversity in the world of sport. In this regard, King richard is also the story of an African-American family who manages to break a glass ceiling.
Will Smith offers a remarkable performance in the role of a man animated by his certainties, even if it means upsetting the established order in passing, even if it means being put back in his place by those who love him when the approach borders on unreason.
Any tennis fan will enjoy the re-enactment, especially during the chapters devoted to coaches Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), with whom John McEnroe and Pete Sampras worked, and Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal). The tennis matches are also well reconstructed. The whole would undoubtedly have benefited from being tightened a little, but King richard (King Richard: Beyond the Game in French version) remains a film well done, well told.
Indoors.
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Biographical drama
King richard
Reinaldo Marcus Green
With Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney
2 h 18