Those who know the careers of the tennis players Venus (41) and Serena Williams (42) have never imagined that their father, Richard Williams (79), had an absolute importance in planning their way to stardom. This week a film about his early years was released on different online platforms that does not fall into excessive drama, but does not find space for comedy either.
“King Richard: A Winning Family”, runs from the focus (incredibly) of the two North American athletes and centers them on their father, a stubborn man, who tries to heal old wounds from his childhood on his own daughters. A melodramatic story that ends in a film that will leave the viewer thinking, especially those who are heads of the family.
The director (Reinaldo Green) trusts Will Smith to put the full weight of the story on him, a task that is not an easy task considering that his figure must outshine the multiple champions. And boy does he meet it. The actor approaches his interpretations seen in “In Search of Happiness” (2006) or “The Hidden Truth” (2015) to give life to “King Richard” and make it clear that his dramatic side is one of the best It fits. Although it is not quite sublime, at least dubbed into Latin Spanish.
–
Richard is a complicated but fair man. His childhood was crossed by the abandonment of his father figure and a context in which Afro-descendants were “the last ear of the jar” in a North American society marked by discrimination in the 1980s. But far from holding resentments, the protagonist’s head is focused on ensuring that his daughters (five in total) do not go through the same calamities and manage to transcend from their innate abilities. Either sports or in the study of traditional careers such as Medicine.
He defines himself as the “great planner” of the future of the family and takes credit for all the achievements. A somewhat self-centered attitude that his wife Oracene Price (played Aunjanue Ellis) reproaches him in various parts of the film and generates tensions that recreate the characteristic dynamic between two heads of household who seek what they believe is best for the group.
Richard is one hundred percent sure that the fate he chose for Venús (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) is the correct one. Thus the film leaves a question mark: Did Richard see potential athletes in the two girls? o Did Richard know that if a father puts all trust in his children, they can achieve what they set out to do? In the answer is one of the most profound messages of the film.
Production only highlights the performances (and enough is enough). While other technical details such as the plans or the soundtrack do not dazzle or innovate. Separate data for the neighborhoods of Compton (city of Los Angeles County) that are portrayed perfectly as the main settings in which the history of this middle-class family unfolds. Gangs and neighborhood troubles are another spice that adds drama to the story.
And “King Richard” is that, a family drama that is far from being an epic sports tale. Except for the last part of the movie. There, the scriptwriters offer us to be the audience of a tennis match in which it is impossible not to “encourage” the most talented of the William family. When a production achieves this identification of the spectators with the characters, it undoubtedly achieved success.
–
Datasheet
King Richard – A Winning Family (King Richard, United States / 2021). Direction: Reinaldo Marcus Green. Script: Zach Baylin. Photography: Robert Elswit. Edition: Pamela Martin. Cast: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal. Distributor: Warner Bros. Duration: 145 minutes. Rating: suitable for ages 13 and up. Available only on HBO Max. Theaters in Corrientes did not add it this week, but it could reach Cinemacenter.
–
