There is nothing particularly remarkable about King Richard, the biographical drama that recounts the formative years of Venus and Serena Williams, as filtered through the perspective of Richard, their hard-working father who did everything he could to make sure that his plans to raise a couple of the greatest tennis players came to fruition. The film, which was directed by the very promising young Reinaldo Marcus Green, is the kind of meat-and-potatoes inspiration biopic that we see produced every year, with many of the same narrative beats being struck, as well as familiar patterns followed, as they may be conventional, but indicate a level of success that can never be underestimated when it comes to these kinds of films. However, I still remarkably enjoyed this film, with King Richard managing to breath new life into a tired genre that has told similar stories countless times before, each one adding to an increasingly growing canon of charming but unconvincing biographical dramas that contribute very little to the cinematic culture outside of a strong performance or impactful message peppered throughout. Yet, this film manages to work concurrently to these traditions, being a solid and enjoyable glimpse into the early careers of two people who not only mastered their chosen area of expertise, but became the embodiment of the entire industry, defining the sport in a way not many people are able to – and its all done through a fascinating character study centred on a cast of individuals, many of whom played as vital a role in the meteoric rise to success experienced by the two protagonists, and the harsh but loving father who toiled endlessly to ensure that his daughters had a future far brighter than anyone else he could imagine.

Tennis may be a wonderful sport to watch, whether it be in-person or broadcast on television, since it’s an elegant and enduring sport that unites all social strata. However, to be perfectly honest, it’s not the most entertaining source for narrative films, with several attempts to explore the legacy of the sport resulting in mildly enjoyable, but otherwise inconsequential attempts at inspirational storytelling. There have been some decent efforts, but ultimately, there isn’t much material in the sport itself to sustain an entire film, particularly since very few of them possess the underdog factor found in most other sports-themed films. King Richard is slightly different – by no means does it present an entirely new perspective on tennis, nor does it lay claim to being some revolutionary testament to the intricate nature of the sport. Instead, screenwriter Zach Baylin and the director work to look beyond the bilateral stimulation of seeing a ball move from one side of a court to another, and approach the sport in the same way many of the great films on the subject of chess (another two-person sport) tend to unfold – they focus on the inner psychological state of its characters, focusing on their shifting mentalities, their strategies and efforts to win over their opponent, regardless of how formidable they may be. This is the foundation for King Richard, which is focused less on the actual sport, and more on the nuances of the industry, the intimate details that exist when someone is trying to find their way into this world. It energizes the film, pulling the story off the court, and instead looking at the circumstances that occur on the outskirts, unpacking the challenges faced by these characters as they pursue their dream. Perhaps this is giving King Richard slightly too much credit – after all, Baylin was not aiming to write the conclusive thesis on every detail of tennis and the people who play it – but there’s an interesting aspect to how he tells the story that keeps us engaged, even those who are not normally fond of films that focus on sport, which can be a truly divisive sub-genre in itself.

Tennis may be dreadfully boring subject matter for a film, but somehow Green and his collaborators make it work. This is undeniably due to the excellent work being done by the cast. Most of the attention has been directed towards Will Smith’s performance as the titular Richard Williams, a man not many people are aware of, but certainly have been the beneficiaries of his tireless work in the form of witnessing his two daughters ascend to the status of being possibly the greatest living athletes, across any sport. A passion project for the veteran movie star who has captivated audiences with solid, endearing work for over a quarter of a century, King Richard is clearly a film that is close to Smith’s heart, as evident by the fact that he’s giving one of his finest film performances, carrying himself with a maturity and candour that wasn’t fully-developed in his younger years. Smith has always been a terrific actor, but it took the transformative nature of a film like this to extract that elusive complexity that he has been seeking for the better part of the decade, some of them working (as in the case of The Pursuit of Happyness), some of them failing dismally (Collateral Beauty and Seven Pounds being some of the most egregious examples). Smith is older and more assured, and his performance demonstrates this beautifully – he is given the chance to be both dramatic and funny, bringing the depth to a man whose first formal introduction to the better part of the audience will be through this film. However, as much as the film seemingly orbits around Smith, it isn’t only worth it for his work, since there is a terrific cast turning in equally great performances. Aunjanue Ellis is simply extraordinary as Brandy, who may be a loyal wife, but is certainly not anybody’s fool, least of all her erratic husband. Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn have excellent moments as the professional coaches who cross paths with Richard and are ultimately seduced into joining his scheme, and Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton prove themselves to be bright young talents, playing the younger version of Venus and Serena, and managing to keep up with Smith and the rest of the cast, all of which are absolutely pivotal to the success of this film.

Undeniably, King Richard was going to have some degree of overt sentimentality. After all, much of the film’s marketing has drawn attention to the fact that both Venus and Serena have their names attached to this film as executive producers, and Baylin ensured that he wrote the screenplay in such a way that it would present a very positive view on Richard Williams and his actions in preparing his daughters for their future. Ironically, one of the major imperfections of this film is that it portrays its main character as being almost entirely perfect, a man who may be erratic and make strange decisions, but each one of them resulting in success, the message of the film being essentially to never underestimate a madman who has meticulous plans for success, and the fervent desire to ensure he achieves it, by any means necessary. This only becomes a problem when a more traditional film would hold the character accountable, and while King Richard does try (particularly in the form of the characters played by Ellis and Bernthal, who essentially exist to be the rational voices of reason that aim to bring the idealistic Richard down to earth every time he allows his ambitions to take over), it doesn’t work that well, since the narrative quickly shifts to the wise-cracking protagonist proving all of his detractors wrong. It’s important to remember that all biographical films are going to be biased in some way, whether or not they’re favourable to their subjects, and King Richard is not any different, with the reverence held towards the main character being the main propellant of the story. As a result, the responsibility was on the director, who was tasked with ensuring that there was a balance between saccharine sentimentality (which can be effective when used well) and the more sobering, realistic aspects of the story. The success of this approach remains to be seen, but from a completely neutral standpoint, Green does relatively well in ensuring that there is some consistency in how the film doesn’t entirely just spend its time praising the protagonist, attempting to cast a more critical lens on his actions, even if they aren’t entirely effective, and are just used to ultimately support the celebratory nature of the film.

King Richard is a decent film that proves that not every biographical drama needs to be revolutionary, and that some are more than effective when they’re remaining as simple as possible, since this is often where the strongest emotions reside. This film is not likely going to break boundaries or change how we perceive or engage with cinema. However, it does manage to make some very interesting statements on the nature of success, as defined by someone who dedicated his entire life to its pursuit, albeit not for himself, but rather for the daughters, whose entire lives he carefully planned out, so much that any deviation from this decades-long schedule is seen as an enormous failure on his part. The film is a strong effort, and while it may not venture anywhere we haven’t seen before, Smith is absolutely terrific, and carries the film with a strength that even his most devoted supporters may not have expected, proving to be the heart of an otherwise very simple but effective drama, all of which orbits around him and his fantastic performance, as well as those given by the rest of the cast. There are some fascinating discussions conducted throughout the film, as well as a few thought-provoking concepts that help the audience connect with these characters, following their incredible journey from obscurity to historical importance. It tells a meaningful story, which is all done through engaging with the story of the man who helped them reach that point, and his own undying devotion to ensuring that, at some point, the whole world would know the names “Venus and Serena”, and that no one would ever forget it – and considering the place they occupy in the global culture, it would seem like King Richard achieved exactly what he intended, and perhaps even more.