Projectionist's rating: 5/10
Sustained by the splendid strawberries and cream we ate earlier, we shared our views on this 2021 sports movie/biopic. We were a mixed bag. Some of us were big tennis fans and had watched the stars play, some had memories of being forced to watch Wimbledon when we were young and never seen it since.
Some were surprised Venus was the focus and had imagined it would follow both sisters’ careers in more depth. Others hoped that it would have ended with Wimbledon. For us, the biggest learning curve was the business behind the sport and how it was so hard then for poorer people to get onto the circuit.
We did discuss Richard Williams’ role as an over-bearing father and whether his story had been sanitised for the film. The shorts were particularly enjoyed as they gave a better insight into the Williams’ sisters, the historical context for black players and the racism they faced.
We were very impressed with the technicalities of the film. We wondered how the games were choreographed as they all felt real and kept us gripped. The editing was brilliant.
The film did convey a time when tennis opened up and became more diverse.