Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men; We Own This City (TV Mini Series)) and starring Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness; Ali; Aladdin; Suicide Squad; Men in Black; I, Robot; Independence Day; The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV Series)), Saniyya Sidney (Hidden Figures; Fences; The Passage (TV Series)), Demi Singleton (Goldie; Godfather of Harlem (TV Series)), Aunjanue Ellis (I Love You Phillip Morris; Freedomland; Money Matters; The Mentalist (TV Series); Designated Survivor (TV Series); 61st Street (TV Series)) and Jon Bernthal (The Wolf of Wall Street; The Peanut Butter Falcon; Baby Driver; The Accountant; The Unforgivable; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; Sicario; The Punisher (TV Series); The Walking Dead (TV Series)).
Drama / biopic; 145 mins; 12+
Richard Williams (Will Smith) and his wife Oracene "Brandy" Williams (Aunjanue Ellis) live in Compton, Los Angeles with their five daughters. Like many parents, they - particularly Richard - want better for their children than what they had growing up, based on an education covering academic subjects, arts and culture, and sports. To do his, he has written a "plan" for them even before they were born.
For Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton), he sees them as future tennis stars, with Venus to reach #1 in the world and Serena to be the best there ever was.
Richard works nights as a security guard; by day he is a family man and coaches the girls according to his "plan" for them. Included in this is one of his many mantras "Fail to plan, plan to fail".
Richard is a tough negotiator - he describes himself as a businessman in one scene: he coaches them on the local public courts until he feels he needs someone else to taken the girls to the next level. They are just ten and twelve years old at this stage. He identifies Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) as their next coach and convinces him to take on the job. He does, but the only problem is that he is based in Florida; Richard negotiates that the whole family (bar the eldest sister, who is graduating from her studies) moves to Florida in a new motorhome and are given a new house.
But far from having everything settled and handing over the girls to their new coach, Richard's plan still has not come to its conclusion. Against Nick's advice and pleading, he bars the girls from competing in the junior circuit, insisting that they wait until they turn professional to do so, mainly so that they do not suffer the same fate as Jennifer Capriati who turned pro at fourteen years of age.
Venus and Serena eventually do become tennis superstars, but this is a look at the road, their journey, that they and their family took to get there, including their father's drive and determination, and his utter belief that his way would be best, despite everyone around him not having the same faith or foresight as he does.
One of the best sports dramas / biopics in which the quality of the sports equals the dramatic performances, which rarely if ever happens. One of Will Smith's best roles, with both Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton excelling as the young sisters. While it covers the mainly glamorous side of the world of tennis, it does hint at some of the pitfalls as well as challenges along the way. The gangs in Compton and the dangers they represent, for example, from which Richard wants to shield his family, regularly beat him up, something he is prepared to do to protect his family.
Currently being screened at Kinepolis. Don't forget to bring a box of tissues, and don't leave until the credits are finished, to see some real-life footage of Richard, Venus and Serena in the early days.
