When I was watching the ads before seeing No Time to Die in theatres, I saw an ad for a movie that caught my eye. This movie was King Richard (Starring Will Smith as Richard WIlliams) and is based off of the true story of Richard Williams, the father of famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. I saw that the release date was November 19th, and marked it on my calendar.
A couple weeks later, on November 3rd, my friend had offered to go see a movie, however I didn’t know what the movie was. I later found out that it was King Richard, and I was confused.
After seeing the movie, I was surprised to see how many topics it seems to cover. Most of the movie takes place in Compton, California in the 1990’s, and (especially during that time period) was infamous for the amount of gang violence that happened in the city. It also covers the economic class and compares the poor Williams family to the millionaire professional tennis players and shows how their lifestyles combine to show the disconnect between the two.
Later on, the movie takes place in Florida (mostly in an upper class environment) and its really interesting to see the WIlliams adapt to the money and fame that came with their successful Tennis playing career.
The movie also covers the racial divide between the Williams sisters and the other tennis players. The movie even established that when Venus and Serrena started playing tennis, it was mostly a white people sport. People in the movie tell them to play other sports instead of tennis due to their race.
The overall story of Richard Williams and his struggle to make his daughters the best tennis players in the world is inspiring and very interesting to watch. The best part is that all the events in the story are true. These are real struggles and real issues in our world today, and tells a tale of determination and hope.
I would highly recommend King Richard for your next cinematic experience.