A Winning Family - King Richard: biopic review with Will Smith

A Winning Family - King Richard

A winning family - King Richard, which will be released in cinemas starting next January 13, tells the story of Richard Williams, father of the tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, from the beginnings of the two young promises to their success in world tennis.

The film, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, sees in its cast a convincing Will Smith, in the main role, flanked by Saniyaa Sidney (Venus Williams), Demi Singleton (Serena Williams), Aunjanue Ellis (Oracene "Brandi" Williams) , Tony Goldwyn (Paul Cohen) and Jon Bernthal (Rick Macci). We had the opportunity to participate in the preview and in the original language reserved for the press of A winning family - King Richard: below you can read our thoughts on this sports biopic.

A winning family : the plot

Richard Williams is a father with very clear ideas about the future of his family and in particular of his two daughters, Venus and Serena. The girls are promising tennis players, who under the guidance of their parents train hard, making the most of every resource at their disposal. Determined to seek change at all costs, Richard will meticulously follow his plan to lead his daughters and the rest of his family to success. The difficulties are manifold, starting from life on the infamous streets of Comton, up to the lack of the financial means necessary to support the training of the two girls; however Richard's clear vision, often misunderstood and controversial, will be the beacon that will illuminate the path to victory.

King Richard: a particularly enjoyable biopic

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Indeed A winning family - King Richard it finds in its narrative structure every single canon of the cinematographic biographical narration, with the presence, for better or for worse, of all those poetic filings and licenses necessary to make the narration of the characters and events enjoyable. Despite this, the film is particularly enjoyable and well-narrated both in its narrative part of family dynamics, and in its sports narrative which presents an all-round synthesis of the world of competitive tennis.

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Speaking of the complexity and depth level of the character, a special applause goes to Smith's interpretation that in the version in original language acts with a strong Louisiana accent and which gives us a very multifaceted character and in this role, thanks to the film's aspirational theme, is particularly at ease. Over the years, Smith has proven to be a complete performer, able to deal with any genre through different media (from TV series like Willy, the prince of Bel-Air, to animation with Bright - Samurai Soul, passing through blockbusters like Men In Black or more authorial films such as The Pursuit of Happiness, however, in King Richard we had the impression of witnessing one of the best performances of the actor capable of attracting the attention of important awards, at least in terms of nominations. >

Game-set-match: King Richard's tennis

A winning family dedicates a considerable part of history to tennis, focusing on portraying the complexity and technicality of this sport as effectively as possible , which has previously been brought to the screen by films such as Borg McEnroe, Battle of the Sexes, Wimbledon and Match Point.

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A winning family - King Richard directly mentions the tennis scene between the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s: fans of this sport will thus be able to find on the screen, in addition to the aforementioned Paul Cohen and Rick Macci (the coaches of Venus), also John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Jennifer Capriati and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

In particular, the character of Capriati is emphasized, since his role as an enfant prodigy of professional tennis, consumed prematurely by everything and immediately , represented a warning to Mr. Williams.

Wanting to find a flaw in this film we can say that the character of Serena (Demi Singleton) is the most sacrificed and that her narrative arc ivo does not receive a satisfying and fair resolution, as King Richard almost exclusively follows the debut of his older sister Venus.

Going beyond the more venal aspects of the environment, when the film focuses on playing tennis it does it in a particularly appropriate way thanks to the technical preparation of the two young actresses who play the Williams sisters and through sequences capable of making even the long tennis exchanges understandable and compelling, translating them into a cinematic experience, enjoyable even for those who do not usually follow this sport.

In conclusion

It can be said that A Winning Family - King Richard is a biopic with a typical narrative structure in three acts, which however manages to enrich the main theme with other elements as well complementary such as the sports story of the two first-time sisters and the historical context of the story.

King Richard is a vision with a strong component of training, which knows how to find a balance between the more dramatic and the biographical aspects, also leaving a good space for lighter moments, giving a right rhythm to the whole film.