Origins Told: King Richard Review
A sports drama has the ability to attract a range of audience members that leave the theater feeling inspired. King Richard, directed by Reinald Marcus Green, is one of the most recent features to make note of. King Richard is the only narrative films that chronicles the rise of history-making tennis players, Venus and Serena Williams.
The film significantly follows the advocacy of Richard Williams as he tries to expose the world to the tenacity and power of two of his daughters. Richard experiences an overwhelming amount of no’s, criticism of this training, and a fracturing marriage while trying to make his daughters greats.
One of the greatest aspects of the film is being able to witness the historically white institution of tennis through Richard’s, Serena’s, and more notably, Venus’s eyes. I enjoyed this lens shift to Venus as I believe modern media tends to forget that Venus walked the foundation her father had laid first.
Venus experienced an unsettling amount of pressure of trying to get her family out of the violence and poverty that rips through Compton and opening doors for Serena. With the duality of Venus and Richards’s perspectives one has the ability to argue Richard wasn’t trying to prove his daughter’s place but his place in a white man’s world. At one point Brandi Williams, played by Aunjanue Ellis, calls out Richard Williams, claiming his covert protection and advocacy on camera is nothing more than a way for him to prove to the white elites he too is exceptional.
Since its release, King Richard has also received some criticism by some on how a deeply flawed Richard was presented. The film briefly touches on his previous marriage and children not from Brandi Williams when in reality Brandi is his third wife and he’s allegedly abandoned several of his children before the conception of Venus and Serena.
There was a moment close to the last act of the film where Brandi and Richard are arguing in the middle of the kitchen about what each of them has sacrificed and did for Venus and Serena that led to their success in Florida. After their huge blowup between the couple, it seems as if they reconcile when in reality Brandi and Richard continue to have struggles in real life that eventually lead to their divorce.
Something to keep in mind when watching this film is that you’re not going to get the most accurate accounts of each one of these people and their situations. Even with this being a biographical film, one can imagine there were moments where both Venus and Serena stepped in to ensure the production was not relishing too far in the struggles and flaws of their parents.
As for Will Smiths’s performance, it’s been a while since the actor has come back to the big screen for a biographical feature since Concussion. It was clear that Smith had taken time studying the behavior of Richard and researching how he would connect or turn off people that he encouraged early in Venus and Serena’s career. Though I wouldn’t claim this has been one of the most astounding performances of Will Smith since Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, this can certainly be considered his top 5.
Some of the younger acts blazed onto the screen. Saniyya Sydney who played Venus and Demi Singleton, who played Serena, did a phenomenal job embodying the sport legends. Saniyya had given texture to the version of Venus the world has only been exposed to through interviews and games. I’m confident that Saniyya will grow into being one of the young talents of today that takes the industry by storm tomorrow.
The film wraps with the R&B and Pop singer Beyonce singing Be Alive before a roll of information showing how successful the Venus and Serena sisters came to be. This had touched the young Honesty within me. Feeling inspired to tackle my own goals and be a G.O.A.T in my own right.
