King Richard-2021
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green
Starring Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Scott’s Review #1,238
Reviewed March 13, 2022
Grade: B+
King Richard (2021) is an inspirational, feel-good Hollywood film with a strong message. It champions the little guy rising beyond expectations to achieve greatness.
Audiences will be left with a warm feeling of possibility and the idea that nearly anything can be achieved with hard work and determination.
The story of the world-famous tennis stars, the Williams sisters, and their parents, happens to be true, lending the necessary credibility to make this film quite enjoyable. It’s a conventional film that contains many cliches, yet it’s a heartwarming family drama.
Richard Williams (Will Smith) is determined to write his daughters, Venus and Serena, into the tennis history books while also keeping them educated and away from the drug-infested streets of Compton, California, where they reside.
Along with his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), they defy all odds in their meteoric rise to fame and fortune just as Richard had planned.
The Williams family’s story is told in an uplifting fashion as they face trials and tribulations along the way, like gang violence and racism. The sisters would soon become two of the world’s greatest sports legends.
An excellent performance by Smith leads the film, though I’m careful to make the bold statement that it’s his best role ever. I haven’t seen Ali (2001), but have heard he brings down the house in that role, again playing a real-life figure.
Time will tell.
The lesson learned about Smith is that when he skirts away from his usual summer popcorn blockbuster action roles, in which there are many, he is truly a great actor.
Plenty of backstories are given to Richard, and the violence and marginalization he has faced in his past, living as a child in Louisiana. His occasional shrewdness and feistiness can be forgiven as the character is explored very well.
Aunjanue Ellis, unknown to me before this film, is a revelation. As Brandy, in the assumed second-in-command supportive wife role, she does way more than one might have expected. In one tense scene, she lays down the law with Richard and refuses to play the second fiddle.
Ellis brings a subdued toughness and quiet to the role that not all actresses can bring.
The casting all around is strong. Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena are believable, though they are not given the material that Smith and Ellis are afforded.
Delightful are Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn in supporting roles as coaches.
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green sticks to a straight-ahead approach and achieves his intended goal. He forges into R-rated territory with some of the gang relationships and an occasional racist remark.
Still, the effect is soft-touch only, and the main message is how a struggling black family can succeed.
I enjoyed the depictions of California and then sunny Florida throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, and finally into more recent times. It felt realistic and appropriate to the film, especially when real-life incidents like the Rodney King police beatings were shown.
The editing team is flawless, especially in the multiple tennis match sequences, which are very difficult to shoot and make seem real. The continuity is exceptional and a massive undertaking.
A safe passage and not a film to be watched a second time or dissected much with post-credit discussions, King Richard (2021) is nonetheless a winner. It provides enough positive vibes to leave its viewers smiling and determined to beat any odds.
Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Actor-Will Smith (won), Best Supporting Actress-Aunjanue Ellis, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song-“Be Alive”
