'King Richard' Tells A Fascinating Tale Both Factual And Fictional
Starring Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn
Rated PG-13
Biography, drama
Run time: 2 hrs, 24 min
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green
On HBO Max (until December 19) and in theaters November 19, 2021
I feel like I give a lot of disclaimers lately, but this one seems very necessary. I don’t know a ton about the Williams sisters and their story. I also didn’t want to look into too much for it so my review wouldn’t be swayed by other stories or additional sources. A few things were distracting enough that it required some follow-up with a handful of google searches, and I’ll make sure to mention any of those as I go. The majority of my background is just existing in a world where Serena and Venus skyrocketed to fame and recognizing how incredible they were, both within their sport and in their very existence as powerful, talented Black women. This movie does a good job of giving some more context to their start, but there were quite a few things where they seemed to take some liberties. But there were so many aspects to their early lives I didn’t know about them, and while I know this was supposed to focus on their father, I found the glimpses into all the young women of the family to be more interesting.
King Richard is absolutely the story of a modern kingmaker. Will Smith plays Richard Williams, a man who grew up in a hugely dangerous and racist area of the south and who is determined to make sure his daughters never go through what he did. While we aren’t explicitly told how he came to the conclusion that his two youngest girls (Serena played by Demi Singleton and Venus by Saniyya Sidney) would be tennis pros, it’s obvious that he and his wife, Brandy (played by Aunjanue Ellis), had a plan, and they stuck to it. He helped train his girls, while still making sure they didn’t slack when it came to school and each other. Some aspects of his decisions were clearly inspired by him wanting to make sure his daughters would never feel as powerless or lesser as he did, it did seem like he truly had the best intentions in so many ways. We follow the girls as they grow up and how they - especially Venus - handled their talent and maturation, and how their dad dealt with it too, which didn’t always line up.
There is so much good in this movie that it almost, almost distracted me from the insane runtime. However, I can’t help but think that but cutting down on the 2.5 hour length would have solved a lot of issues I have. My main problem is something that comes up in so many based-on-a-true-story tales: creative liberties that don’t seem to be necessary, or careful omissions to skew a narrative. This is far from being a con exclusive to King Richard. Hell, I was shocked when I went to see Spencer and it started off with a disclaimer that the entire story was about a ‘fictional weekend inspired by a true tragedy.’ I understand that a biopic can very rarely be strict nonfiction, and I don’t expect them to be. However, a huge scene early on in this movie that basically starts Venus’ professional career in a way is something that didn’t even happen - at least not even slightly how it is portrayed in the film. With a story as incredible as the Williams sisters’, I just don’t understand why fictional events even need to be added. After a quick web search, I also learned that Richard Williams had many other children (I believe it said ‘at least seven’) before his marriage to Brandy, and other than a single conversation in the movie, that is never even addressed. Especially considering it seems that the man may have full on just abandoned them.
Don’t get me wrong: this story is incredible. Richard’s determination and drive absolutely are a huge reason why we get to even know who the sisters are. Even when factoring in his faults, the true biography is fascinating, and it honestly would have improved the story a bit. It felt like they were trying to push a saint-like narrative for a man who was really just a human like you and I. Well, a human with a 78 page plan on how to send his talented daughters straight to stardom. I also want to give praise to the solid acting in this film. There aren’t really weak links, even if I was slightly baffled by Will Smith’s accent at times. In fact, I wanted some more time from a few of the other characters. Rather than give us a fictional scene that isn’t even needed, share a bit more about the fact that there were three older half-sisters living with Serena and Venus. How did they feel? What happened with them? I would have really enjoyed learning more about Richard’s past too. When a movie is more than two hours long and I felt like I was wanting for some gaps to be filled, I get a little wistful for what could have been. I can admit it does seem silly to feel that way, especially for a film that will absolutely be talked about constantly come award season.