King Richard may sound Shakespearean in title, but the film is anything but a tragic tale. No, this is the story of Richard Williams, father of tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams, and how he created a plan before the girls were even born that would help guide them not only to Wimbledon, but into the history books of the sport. And while this is a story that mostly takes place on various tennis courts with the sport front and center throughout, tennis isn’t what’s at the heart of the story. No, this is a story about family, believing in and respecting oneself, all while remaining humble – especially when in a position where arrogance could come so easily.
Now when I say a position where arrogance could come easily I’m speaking of Venus and Serena’s talent with the game and not a position of privilege that would see them looking down on others because their life growing up was the exact opposite of that. I’m not a huge sports guy, but I do love a good film about the subject that doesn’t look to embellish things just to make a story more engaging or bigger than it may have been. What’s crazy about King Richard is that it’s hard to believe that everything in this film actually happened the way it plays out, but it did, and this true story is far more captivating than any fictional underdog tennis tale could hope to be.
Richard (Will Smith) is a man that pushes his girls hard to succeed because he doesn’t want them to suffer through the same hardships that he did being poor and growing up in a time when a black man would be beaten in the streets if he accidentally touched a white person. When he heard that a tennis player made $40,000 from a single match ($10,000 less than he made in an entire year) he then crafted a plan to train his girls to become professional tennis players – oh, and then he convinced his wife Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis) that they had to have two more kids.
Those kids were Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) and the movie begins with them as young girls heading out to the court with their sisters (Oracene’s daughters from a prior marriage) and going through the daily training regimen that Richard put them through. Upon arrival while Venus and Serena trained, Richard would sweep the courts of the leaves and debris, as they lived in Compton and weren’t able to practice in a nicer area due to the costs.
But part of Richard’s plan was to find Venus and Serena a coach that’d train them for free once they saw how talented they were. In the interim he’d continue to train them, as would his wife, while both worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. What makes the script by screenwriter Zach Baylin so strong is that while we know that Venus and Serena go on to become tennis megastars, the story of how they get there is just so engrossing that at times it’s easy to forget that their names are now synonymous with tennis and simply get swept away with hoping Richard’s plan works and that these young girls succeed.
The film has what looks like a hefty two and a half hour runtime, though it’s incredibly well-paced and in a time where some movies could benefit from trimming off 20 to 30 minutes, King Richard works well as is. While they do shine Richard in a mostly positive light here, there’s a scene where he and Oracene are fighting and it comes up that he has kids from prior relationships and it sounds like he’s trying to avoid his son. It’s good that they included it, as the argument does show Richard at his lowest, with Oracene pointing out how much she’s helped train the girls despite not getting the recognition for it from anyone – including Richard – and how while he preaches for the girls to be humble, he’s often full of arrogance.
It’s a powerful and well-acted scene from all involved, and while I would’ve liked to have learned a bit more about this to get a better picture of Richard, it’s enough to let the audience know that while the tale being told is one of positivity, the road wasn’t without its bumps and that there’s more to this seemingly prophetic father than this movie spotlight has time to delve into. It also doesn’t make Richard out to be a straight-up villain or take away from the positive teachings that he’s bestowed upon his daughters over the years, it simply shows that he’s just a regular man with flaws of his own.
I do quickly have to touch on the film’s acting, as it’s simply astounding on all fronts. For a film to be as riveting as this those in front of the camera have to be able to hold that attention, and do they ever. At the front of the pack there’s Smith, who is being showered in award accolades for his work as Richard. Much like Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the make-up department doesn’t go heavy on prosthetic in an attempt to turn Smith into Richard. Instead, they change just enough to give the slight appearance of the man, while allowing Smith to be able to showcase the emotion and facial expressions required to make the part work.
Then there’s Sidney and Singleton, who are just superb as Venus and Serena. They’re an absolute joy to watch, and beyond easy to root for. While the pair start the film training together, Venus does take center stage first, leaving the younger Serena behind. It would’ve been nice to have seen a bit more from Serena’s journey, but again, this is how it happened and the path they take to tell this particular tale makes complete sense. Ellis plays Oracene wonderfully as well, stealing the scene with Smith during their argument, and playing the strong patriarch who views herself as an equal (rightfully so) perfectly. Lastly, there’s Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn who play the girl’s coaches from early on, are both fantastic, with Bernthal really taking it up a notch and always being fun to watch when he comes in during the film’s latter half.
I didn’t know anything about Venus or Serena before watching this outside of the fact that they’d both won loads of championships, and that over the years any time I had sports highlights on and the story was about tennis, one of the two was likely in the finals. Getting to view their journey from the early days was inspiring, and seeing how involved Richard and his now ex-wife Oracene were in shaping them into the players they are now, and how Richard’s plan that he’d created before the girls had even taken their first breath is something you think only happens in the movies. Whether you’re a sports fan or not, King Richard is an unbelievable story that shouldn’t be missed.
Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
The 1080p transfer of the film’s 2K theatrical release is gorgeous, with everything leaning towards the win column as far as picture quality goes. The night scenes are clean and crisp, with no muddying and just deep blacks that allow the lit areas to pop beautifully. The scenes filmed inside or in the day are unsurprisingly just as sharp, with colours popping nicely, showcasing the warm tones and cooler tones perfectly when the picture asks for it.
On the audio side of things we’ve got a Dolby Atmos offering that allows the dialogue to be front and center when spoken, and the score and sound effects to take over harmoniously during the film’s more intense sports/training sequences. There’s not much to complain about on either side, so those who pick up this Blu-ray can be rest assured that the quality will be there.
Special Features:
Following the Plan: The Making of King Richard – This featurette comes in at just over 9-minutes in length and sees director Reinaldo Marcus Green talk about bringing the film to life, as well as what appealed to him about the story. We also get to hear from Smith, and the rest of the main cast about the filming process, working with Isha Price (Serena and Venus’s sister) as a consultant, and how it helped them be as true to the story as possible.
Becoming Richard – This is a six-and-a-half minute featurette that focuses on Smith’s portrayal of the title character. We hear from makeup artist Kudy Murdock and their decision to not completely cover Will in prosthetics. We also learn more about how Will got into the part pulling from his own relationship with his daughter.
Champions on Screen – This featurette is just under six-minutes in length we learn more about Sidney and Singleton’s portrayals of the sisters, and how they trained at tennis to take on the roles. We also get to meet their tennis stand-ins, who are all proud to represent two people that mean so much to them. Wildly, we learn here that Sidney is actually left-handed and learned to play right-handed for the role of Venus.
Deleted Scenes – We’ve got a pair of deleted scenes that don’t do much but slow the film’s pacing down had they been left in. They cover ground that’s already touched upon enough, so this was the right call.
Disclaimer: A review copy of this Blu-ray was sent to me to cover in honest and truthful fashion.
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents King Richard. Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green. Written by: Zach Baylin. Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn. Running time: 124 Minutes. Rating: PG. Released on Blu-ray: Feb. 8, 2022.
About Brendan Campbell
