The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of hagiography is "biography of saints or venerated persons." And haven't director Reinaldo Green and star Will Smith done that here with their portrait of Richard Williams, father of the Williams sisters, two of the most famous players in the history of women's tennis? Well maybe not completely but the glass here is certainly a lot more half full than half empty.
In some respects, Zach Baylin's screenplay does a decent enough job pointing out a number of Richard Williams' admirable qualities. First of all there's his courage in the face of adversity-not only having to endure physical assaults by gang members on the rough streets where the family lived in Compton, California, but also the whole history which we learn about, facing off against racists in the deep South while he was growing up (including the Ku Klux Klan).
And another extremely admirable quality was the fact that Richard did not embrace the militant ideology espoused in certain sectors of the African-American community advocating segregation. He was determined to have his daughters participate as equal competitors in a sport usually thought of as the domain of white privilege. Taking his daughters around to introduce them to various high echelon movers and shakers in the tennis community, took a lot of guts.
The portrayal of Richard's treatment of Venus and Serena is a double-edged sword. Again on the admirable side, there's that excellent scene in which he has his daughters watch the Disney movie Cinderella in order to teach them humility. And later he gets a great deal of flack for not allowing Venus to play in the juniors for three years after she racks up a staggering number of victories.
Richard is basically accused of being overprotective by his wife Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis) but his desire to have the daughters lead a "normal" life did prevent them from ending up like young tennis star Jennifer Capriati who was arrested while associating with unsavory drug-addicted characters.
But there was another side of the overprotective dad that perhaps was played down in the film-and that is how Richard was a ruthless disciplinarian who subjected his daughters to a constant regimen of unrelenting practice. There is a good scene in the film where the friction over this issue with Oracene reaches its apotheosis-Richard drives away leaving his daughters in a store and expects them to walk back three miles to their home. All because he felt they were bragging about their success on the tennis courts.
Fortunately his wife persuades him to return to the store and pick the girls up. There's another scene in which Child Welfare authorities were called to the home in which an anonymous neighbor accused Richard of child abuse (accusations of forcing the girls to study too hard and practice tennis for too long). While completely exaggerated, there may have been some truth in the neighbors' perception that Richard was "pushing" the girls a little too much.
On the other hand, it could be argued (probably by Richard himself) that without having "pushed" the girls, they would never have become tennis champions.
What's missing from the portrait here is Richard's unsavory side. A strict disciplinarian, he hardly loses his temper at all. It's a very favorable view of a man whose pushy demeanor (and ego) alienated many. There's also the issue of shady business dealings as well as infidelity., which are referenced but downplayed.
Nothing is mentioned about his first wife and the children he had with her. One of his daughters from the first marriage no longer talks to him accusing Richard of abandoning the first wife and providing no child support for the family.
King Richard proves to be a mixed bag. I learned a good number of things about Richard Williams that appear to be reasonably historically accurate. His obsession with making his daughters into stars (hatched even before they were born) is a complicated issue and one can make several arguments for and against.
But I think there is the issue of celebrity worship in our culture that the film unfortunately promotes. Venus and Serena's exploits are the stuff of legend I suppose in the tennis world. But the way they're treated here (as well as Richard's hand in molding and guiding them), one can say they're being held up as almost God-like figures.
Part of the mythology is to build the Williams up as very humble people guided by a caring, humble father. One can easily see in this "authorized" biopic that Richard was by no means the almost saintly figure being pawned off here. And do you really believe Richard's dark side didn't affect his daughters at all? Recall what African-American tennis player Sloane Stephens said about Serena: " people's perception of her as being so friendly is not reality."
It's instructive to realize that athletic success is ephemeral. How many people today recall the names of the tennis stars even as recent as the 70s and the 80s, when the sport of tennis became a worldwide phenomenon? Among many younger people, probably not many.
Will Smith does a good job capturing Richard William's driven spirit and Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene emphatically makes her case as the neglected wife. I also enjoyed the various actors portraying characters involved in the business of tennis-vultures ready to swoop down and reap the benefits of the Williams sisters' newfound success.
In some respects, Zach Baylin's screenplay does a decent enough job pointing out a number of Richard Williams' admirable qualities. First of all there's his courage in the face of adversity-not only having to endure physical assaults by gang members on the rough streets where the family lived in Compton, California, but also the whole history which we learn about, facing off against racists in the deep South while he was growing up (including the Ku Klux Klan).
And another extremely admirable quality was the fact that Richard did not embrace the militant ideology espoused in certain sectors of the African-American community advocating segregation. He was determined to have his daughters participate as equal competitors in a sport usually thought of as the domain of white privilege. Taking his daughters around to introduce them to various high echelon movers and shakers in the tennis community, took a lot of guts.
The portrayal of Richard's treatment of Venus and Serena is a double-edged sword. Again on the admirable side, there's that excellent scene in which he has his daughters watch the Disney movie Cinderella in order to teach them humility. And later he gets a great deal of flack for not allowing Venus to play in the juniors for three years after she racks up a staggering number of victories.
Richard is basically accused of being overprotective by his wife Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis) but his desire to have the daughters lead a "normal" life did prevent them from ending up like young tennis star Jennifer Capriati who was arrested while associating with unsavory drug-addicted characters.
But there was another side of the overprotective dad that perhaps was played down in the film-and that is how Richard was a ruthless disciplinarian who subjected his daughters to a constant regimen of unrelenting practice. There is a good scene in the film where the friction over this issue with Oracene reaches its apotheosis-Richard drives away leaving his daughters in a store and expects them to walk back three miles to their home. All because he felt they were bragging about their success on the tennis courts.
Fortunately his wife persuades him to return to the store and pick the girls up. There's another scene in which Child Welfare authorities were called to the home in which an anonymous neighbor accused Richard of child abuse (accusations of forcing the girls to study too hard and practice tennis for too long). While completely exaggerated, there may have been some truth in the neighbors' perception that Richard was "pushing" the girls a little too much.
On the other hand, it could be argued (probably by Richard himself) that without having "pushed" the girls, they would never have become tennis champions.
What's missing from the portrait here is Richard's unsavory side. A strict disciplinarian, he hardly loses his temper at all. It's a very favorable view of a man whose pushy demeanor (and ego) alienated many. There's also the issue of shady business dealings as well as infidelity., which are referenced but downplayed.
Nothing is mentioned about his first wife and the children he had with her. One of his daughters from the first marriage no longer talks to him accusing Richard of abandoning the first wife and providing no child support for the family.
King Richard proves to be a mixed bag. I learned a good number of things about Richard Williams that appear to be reasonably historically accurate. His obsession with making his daughters into stars (hatched even before they were born) is a complicated issue and one can make several arguments for and against.
But I think there is the issue of celebrity worship in our culture that the film unfortunately promotes. Venus and Serena's exploits are the stuff of legend I suppose in the tennis world. But the way they're treated here (as well as Richard's hand in molding and guiding them), one can say they're being held up as almost God-like figures.
Part of the mythology is to build the Williams up as very humble people guided by a caring, humble father. One can easily see in this "authorized" biopic that Richard was by no means the almost saintly figure being pawned off here. And do you really believe Richard's dark side didn't affect his daughters at all? Recall what African-American tennis player Sloane Stephens said about Serena: " people's perception of her as being so friendly is not reality."
It's instructive to realize that athletic success is ephemeral. How many people today recall the names of the tennis stars even as recent as the 70s and the 80s, when the sport of tennis became a worldwide phenomenon? Among many younger people, probably not many.
Will Smith does a good job capturing Richard William's driven spirit and Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene emphatically makes her case as the neglected wife. I also enjoyed the various actors portraying characters involved in the business of tennis-vultures ready to swoop down and reap the benefits of the Williams sisters' newfound success.