Movie Review: King Richard

Biopics were never usually my thing in all honesty. If you asked me to count how many biopic films I've seen in my current lifetime I couldn't probably get past all the digits on my hand. I don't have anything against biopics in all honesty, I think the idea of taking a real life person and reflecting a period of their life in a cinematic style has a lot of merit, especially when the person has an interesting story to tell. I guess on reflection my initial assumption was I would find them boring and wouldn't be able to capture my attention for their usually long runtime; I'm glad to be proven wrong  at this point.

King Richard is the latest big biopic film to hit cinema screens in the month of November and I was fortunate enough to get access to a advanced screening as part of my Cineworld Unlimited membership. The movie stars Will Smith in the role of Richard Williams, the father to famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. The film follows Richard and his family through the early years of Venus and Serena's life in training to be professional tennis players. Showing their roots and hardships from growing up in the suburbs of Compton, Calirfornia all the way to their eventual transition to Florida to learn under famed tennis coach Rick Macci. While the movie follows Venus and Serena's gradual rise to stardom, the film is inherently about their father Richard; hence the title of the film. From what I understand Richard was a big part in influencing the Williams sisters journey into professional tennis and the film pivots a lot of the narrative around his coaching and fathering in the wake of all that.  

In light of the fact this film is aimed to be a reflection of their father, I think the movie does brilliantly in showcasing a emotional yet inspiring journey the entirety of the Williams family went on during the early years of Serena and Venus' career. Richard as a father and coach wants nothing but success for his daughters and Will Smith does an incredible job showcasing the loving yet complicated nature his character enforced onto them growing up. You see Richard go through so much hardship and struggle to keep his family safe in the gangbanger environment of Compton as he does his best to get his daughters the funding and training necessary to get them on the path to success. You see such a strong family dynamic between him and wife and children and it's honestly one of the best roles I've seen Will Smith play in a long time. I like how the narrative showcases the positives and negatives of the relationships established between these characters. Richard as a father, while caring and considerate for his children is made even more grounded in the fact he has negative tendencies that stem from this nature. Living his life in a much darker and crueller period for Black Americans, you can sense Richard wants a better life for his daughters and his desire for that pushes him to some very realistic extremes that helps reflect his flawed nature. 

Part of what makes the film so immersive to follow is not just Smiths performance as Richard but the other cast as well. Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton play Venus and Serena respectively and they fill the roles incredibly well. They are capable of showcasing not only the physicality required of the young tennis stars but have some brilliant acting skills that help them pair off against Will Smith in some of the films more emotional sequences. They also have such compelling chemistry with each other that makes it feel easy to recognise them as very close sisters. Aunjanue Ellis as their mother has some great moments between her children and Richard himself. She serves as a very central core of the family and she gives off a lot of support and clarity when it's needed. The last notable character is probably Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci; Venus' coach from Florida. I like how supportive he is of Venus' development, he also has some great moments of confrontation with Richard when he reflects his weaker more vulnerable side. 

The only negative I can really draw on with this film is it's pacing. The runtime for the film is not that long when compared to an average films runtime but it's hard not to feel how much it drags in some moments, I get that it's trying to give as much transparency and definition to the early life of the Williams family and how Serena and Venus got on track to their careers, but it definitely feels like it drags it's feet notably getting to some of the more compelling plot line. 

I think the positives far outweigh the negatives though and on a whole this film is a great showcase of the love and care Richard Williams put in to keep his daughters safe and build them a career to carry them through the rest of their lives. It's filled to the brim with heart and emotion and it's maintained by brilliant acting and interaction from all of it's cast.