Directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks), from a script by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, Slumdog Millionaire), Battle Of The Sexes tells the real-life story of the 1973 tennis match between women's champion Billie Jean King and former men's champion Bobby Riggs.
Emma Stone is superb as Billie Jean King. King was a pioneer in womens' tennis, a fierce campaigner for equal pay and equal rights in a time when female tennis players would make around an eighth of what the male players would make. Stone captures King's passion and fire, but also explores her more vulnerable side as the film also focuses on King's personal life. Whilst married, King started a relationship with hairdresser Marilyn Barnett (King came out in the 1980s when her relationship with Barnett ended somewhat acrimoniously, and she now lives with her partner of 30 years, her former doubles partner Ilana Kloss.) Stone manages to convey King's tension of wanting to indulge her true feelings balanced against the demands of the sport (and the expectations of her family) nicely. Her relationship with Marilyn isn't sensationalised at all, and is presented very matter-of-factly. Stone truly dsappears into the role and it's a truly impressive performance.
I will be honest, I've never really taken to Steve Carell as an actor but- after brilliant performances in Foxcatcher and The Big Short- I'm coming round to him. He is pitch-perfect as Riggs, a larger-than-life hustler and showman, a compulsive gambler whose addiction strains his marriage. In the run-up to the match, he plays on the 'male chauvinist pig' persona and doesn't train- assuming that he'll steamroller King. There's something undeniably likeable about Carell's Riggs even though the position he takes on womens' tennis is unlikeable. But, as with Stone, Carell also shows the pathos as his relationship with wife Priscilla strains. A fine performance.
The supporting performances are similarly strong: Sarah Silverman (another actress that I'm not massively fussed on) is great as the snarky Gladys Heldman, the founder of World Tennis Magazine who helped King start her own tour when she boycotted the LTA tournaments. Andrea Riseborough gives a spirited performance as Marilyn Barnett, whilst there's a great supporting turn by Austin Stowell as Larry King (Billie Jean's husband). Elisabeth Shue puts in a dignified and stoic turn as Riggs' wife Priscilla, in love with her husband but unable to cope with his gambling. Alan Cumming is great as the waspish fashion designer Ted Tinling (although some of his advice to Billie Jean re: her sexuality seems a little contrived and he has a very affected accent which is a little distracting). Bill Pullman puts in a strong turn as boorish tennis promoter Jack Kramer, butting heads with Billie Jean throughout.
As a secondary antagonist in the story, Jessica McNamee provides a certain amount of venom as Australian tennis player Margaret Court. When Court beat King early in 1973 and became the top female player in the world, Riggs challenged her to a match- and promptly annihilated her in less than an hour. There's the suggestion also that, aside from professional rivalry, Court knew about and disapproved of King's sexuality- there's a pointed comment made about 'licentiousness and sin' in all-womens' tours (in real life, Margaret Court has been a longtime opponent to LGBT rights and made several negative statements during the recent Australian vote on same-sex marriage, so it's not entirely certain whether Beaufoy has just retrofitted Court's current position to the original time or whether she was always such a raging homophobe).
Battle Of The Sexes is a well-balanced film and it's damn well entertaining. If you're not a tennis fan, you don't need to stay away; what I know about tennis could go on the back of a stamp but I found the humour and the drama engaging and the performances exciting.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tez
Based on a non-fiction book by Michael Lewis and co-written and directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman), The Big Short tells the story of some of the people who saw the impending collapse of the American housing market in 2008 (which subsequently plunged the world economy into difficulties). These include Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale), a hedge fund manager whose head for numbers first discovered the shady dealings which would eventually lead to the housing collapse; amoral trader Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), who found Burry's proposal and decided to make a killing on it; perpetually angry hedge fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and his team who get introduced to the deal by Vennett via a wrong number call, and a pair of wet-behind-the-ears investors (John Magaro and Finn Wittrock) who are mentored by a retired banker, Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt).
Performances are generally good. Bale gives a quirky, if slightly mannered, performance as Burry, the mastermind behind the 'short' (essentially betting against the banks). Gosling is assured and strangely likeable as the self-interested, slick Vennett. Carell's performance is maybe the strongest as Baum, angry at the venal self-serving arrogance of the banks and their practices.There are two great supporting turns by Melissa Leo as a ratings agency employee who calls Baum out on his hypocrisy and Marisa Tomei as Baum's wife who helps him through a personal tragedy.
There's a lot I didn't like about the film and most of it is stylistic. I didn't like the breaking of the fourth wall constantly (which I felt detracted from the flow of the story). There are a couple of celebrity cameos to explain some of the more technical points or jargon of the finance world, although they feel shoehorned in and- in the case of Margot Robbie in a bubble bath- slightly exploitative. There's also one of the most blatant pieces of sexposition (ie. setting an important piece of dialogue in a sexual context) when Baum and his team visit a bunch of strippers to explain that things are about to go tits up (excuse the pun). A tighter script could have easily explained these points without resorting to a Family Guy style cutaway.
There are flickers of social commentary and the impact that the banks' recklessness would have. An investigation of an unoccupied housing estate in Florida, where people fled as soon as the eviction notices came in, and a conversation with a tenant who was about to lose his home and not even know it is powerful. Brad Pitt gets a slightly heavy-handed speech about the fact that, if his traders are right and cash in on the collapse, it's at the expense of people's jobs, homes and pensions. The final voiceover by Vennett explaining what actually happened- the bailouts, the bankers avoiding jail (only one banker faced jail time)- and some end-text which explains that the banks are starting to pull the same shit under a different name leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Having watched the film over the weekend, I'm still at a bit of a loss to describe my reaction to it. It's being marketed as a comedy but I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times I actually laughed; it's also a biographical drama but it's a bit too slick and flashy. I'm also quite struggling to get the point of it all as well. The American economy went to hell in a handbasket in 2008 and caused ripples that are still being felt in the world today. We know this; we've lived it. The shady dealings of the banks and their monumental arrogance that they either a) wouldn't get found out or b) refused to acknowledge that the entire business was built on shoddy foundations is well documented.
The film doesn't have the satirical bite of something like The Wolf Of Wall Street and it doesn't get sufficiently angry about the various injustices that the crisis unearthed. A bit of a disappointment.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Tez
Wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his older brother David (Mark Ruffalo) both won gold medals at the 1984 Olympics. In 1987, Mark is invited to the home of millionaire philanthropist John E. du Pont (Steve Carell), who wants Mark and David to join his private wrestling team with a view to training for the world championships and even the 1988 Olympics. Mark agrees, but David refuses as he doesn't wish to uproot his wife and young family. Mark's decision to go underneath du Pont's wing have far-reaching and ultimately tragic repercussions for the Schultz family.
Director Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) has created a thoughful, absorbing, quiet character drama with a trio of strong central performances.
Steve Carell's performance as du Pont is little short of breathtaking. It's a very unshowy, understated performance, unlike anything I've seen him give before. du Pont is a loner, an eccentric, a man in desperate desire for validation, he wants respect and wants to be liked. He has the money to do what he pleases and thinks people can just be bought. You can't help but sympathise with him initially, before the obsessional nature comes out. I don't necessarily buy into the homoerotic angle some reviewers have seen in the relationship between du Pont and Mark- I see it more as that between master and servant (or, more accurately, owner and property). Whilst Carell is undoubtedly a brilliant comic actor, Foxcatcher proves he's got some real dramatic acting chops too.
Channing Tatum gives a decent performance as Mark. Physically imposing but also emotionally damaged, he finds a father figure in du Pont which causes some tension and estrangement with his brother (who was de facto father). You don't often get to see what's going on behind Mark's eyes, there's little development or exposition which is something of an issue. Mark Ruffalo is great as David, a caring and kind family man, always on the look-out for his little brother and there throughout it all, despite some less-than-brotherly behaviour from Mark. This is a performance without a shred of ego to it and he's rightfully garnered a lot of awards praise for it.
Outside of the central trio, there are two other performances of note. Sienna Miller was unrecognisable in her role as David's wife Nancy, to the point where I only recognised her from her name in the end credits. She didn't have much to do but was a great foil to Ruffalo. Similarly, Vanessa Redgrave- a woman who could beguile by reading the phone book- has a great cameo as du Pont's domineering and disapproving mother Jean. She only has a handful of scenes, but the pivotal one where she calls wrestling 'low' is an absolute highlight.
The real Mark Schultz went on a Twitter rant slamming certain aspects of the film recently. This is based on a true story. The operative word there being 'based'. It's not a documentary. Certain things have been changed to fulfil a dramatic need. What you do have is a strong, well-made film telling a gripping story and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tez
