Road to Oscars: King Richard
Added 2022-03-25 13:49:14 +0000 UTCMy biggest problem with biopics is that they’re too digestible. My curiosity to see real life events unfold on screen overrides my ability to properly assess their filmmaking elements, which are often mediocre. I can’t say King Richard is completely different. I find it interesting that they chose to portray this from Richard Williams’ perspective, since he presents a very complex character study. But seeing that Will Smith was a producer makes me dubious that this choice may have been made because we’re approaching the “Will Smith vies for his Oscar” era. I did enjoy King Richard - the acting is nice for the most part and I'm excited to see where this takes the young actors who play the kids. I also enjoyed that it doesn't just revere Richard - his story is incredible but it doesn't let him off the hook for some of of his worse choices. But altogether, King Richard felt largely uninspired. The story was so by the numbers, so reflective of every single American Dream sports story, that I found myself rolling my eyes at times. I also found myself wishing the story was about Venus and Serena, regardless of how marvellous their father is. It seemed they were rendered completely passive for the sake of centring Richard in the story, and I would have liked to see more of their individual characters. I also felt like we lose all perspective by the third act. I would’ve liked for the film to choose only one lens and stick with it, but by the end we’re just watching the action happen from afar with the film taking little to no stance on it. Ultimately, I just don’t believe biopics belong at the Oscars unless a filmmaker does something interesting with them (and even then, they can be a bit insufferable, re: my feelings about Spencer). I am tired of formulaic films pushing out actual innovative filmmaking, and I’m tired of actors winning awards for simply impersonating real people. Call me a cynic! But I’m over it. Although that Beyonce song over the credits is amazing.
