King Richard

“King Richard” is not only a film everyone can appreciate, but also the one movie this season everyone should see.

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Like other great sports stories, “King Richard” illustrates the importance of focus, commitment, and the power of believing in yourself. But this is more than a sports film; it rises above the typical inflated cliches.

Based on the true stories of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, this encouraging and delightful story argues that the heart of a champion is more significant than their trophy collection.

The story focuses on the sisters' early success. In the face of gathering evil and inner-city corruption, Richard and Brandi Williams raise their five daughters as resilient women and academic scholars. Between coaching the tennis prodigies on the menial courts of Compton and their full-time jobs, they manage to juggle family time with their girls.

Their lives change forever when the family relocates to Florida, where famed tennis coach Rick Macci, played by the talented Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher,” “The Walking Dead”), agrees to train the sisters at his academy. Bernthal exceptionally portrays the spirited coach who fights for Venus's best interest on and off the court.

Will Smith's Oscar-contending performance is ambitious and convincing. He balances the push and pulls of determination and fear without upstaging the story. Consistently engaging from beginning to end, Smith flourishes in the film's crucial moments as a father who struggles to see his daughter's potential for the chip on his shoulder. 

The casting is instinctively accurate with Demi Singleton (Serena) and Saniyya Sidney (Venus). Their convincing portrayals of the future tennis greats make you forget you're watching a film in a theater and not a real-life professional match. With passion and skill, the young actresses illustrate the pressures of being superstar athletes.

Aunjanue Ellis (The Help, Ray) shines as Brandi, a mother participating in the whole lives of champion athletes, not just the game highlights. She contends with her husband until she can no longer remain quiet. Ellis holds her own opposite Smith in a critical scene where the two square off as a married couple whose power balance has broken down.

Tony Goldwyn (Scandal) plays Paul Cohen, the talented coach of tennis champions such as John McEnroe and Pete Sampras. He agrees to help Richard coach the girls. Later in real life, he added, "I had never seen a six-year-old as strong as Serena, and I'd never seen a potential woman champion as athletic and as graceful as Venus." Goldwyn's talent for complimenting the other players in the scene satisfies a balance to the variety of characters that come and go in the film's first half.

Handed an outstanding cast and screenplay, most filmmakers would be content getting out of the way and letting talent take its course. Yet, director Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”) doesn't waste any opportunity to build tension and excitement with camera angles and lighting, visualizing the pressures of tennis and Venus' impact on the sports world.

Zack Baylin's screenplay unpacks concepts of racism in the sports world and employs Richard in confronting tennis' elitist country club culture.

Technology influences the film's context and landscape against the backdrop of the early 1990s. From exposing the realities of racism with Rodney King's beating to documenting Venus' rise to superstardom by breaking racial boundaries in the sport of tennis, the video camera confirms the best and worst of the times.

The film – produced, performed, written, and directed by black actors and filmmakers - proves that representation matters. Hollywood's support of these projects leverages the power of the ongoing fight for racial equality in the industry.

“King Richard” is not only a film everyone can appreciate, but it's also the one movie this season that everyone should see. Just after outperforming ordinary sports films, it will inspire you to reconnect with your dreams and commit to new goals, both on and off the court.

“King Richard” opens in theaters on Nov. 19th.