Female Film Critics 24/375
Fans of The Wire know the hard-hitting, confrontational social critiques delivered by its creators, George Pelecanos and David Simon. They’ve lost none of their gritty, scathing indictment of dysfunctional communities as proved by the six episode series, We Own This City. Based on real events, to our shocking dismay, sequences immerse us in Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force.
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Will Smith has been nominated twice for Oscars. Now his persuasive performance as King Richard should earn him a third nod and, perhaps, first win. Smith plays stubborn, outspoken Richard Williams, the demanding yet loving father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. “You gonna be the greatest of all time,” Richard tells the girls. “You know how I know? Because I planned for it.”
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Director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard focuses on Richard Williams, the single-minded father of the great tennis sisters, Venus and Serena Williams in their early days. Richard guides and perfects their talent through a racist sport where opportunities arrive only because of his unflinching, unflappable determination with support from his wife Oracene.
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To call the truth-based film a disappointment is an understatement. What might have been a compelling story of a father’s quest for redemption is, instead, a flabby melodrama that plays like one of those old Afterschool Specials. Joe Bell and his family are reduced to symbols of problems that plague society. Flesh-and-blood people deserve better.
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