I approached this film knowing next to nothing about its real-life origins. It was obvious, still, to me that the film took great pains in reconstructing its '70s period to make it accurate; it occasionally felt like a dramatized documentary, especially with its use of (apparent) stock footage, news highlights, and some expert cinematography by Linus Sandgren (La La Land, American Hustle, Joy). Yet for all its hard stylistic work, Battle of the Sexes can't help but be arresting in its timeliness.
If your ignorance matches mine, the titular battle refers to a 1973 tennis match, played by Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which was broadcast and billed as a definitive moment in feminist history. Either a woman would succeed in a sport dominated by men, or a self-proclaimed chauvinist pig would prove the male body's mastery. While presumably many people were aware of how this match turned out, I found the buildup and execution of the game riveting, and cheered along with the on-screen crowd as King reigned victorious. Stories like this are not only wildly entertaining, as so many people are emotionally invested in sports dramas of its ilk, but also fiercely important. When stories of high-profile women being paid less for equal work, dozens of women being molested in the workplace by male superiors, and millions of women hashtagging "#MeToo" become regular news, those who proclaim feminism is evil or stupid or wrong or unnecessary are forced to eat their words.
But Battle of the Sexes isn't simply a platform for these issues. It's also a vulnerable, sometimes quiet film that focuses on King's life, a story I found as absorbing as the primary plot of tennis. Her marriage to a loving supportive man is put to the test during her lengthy travels and time away, and as she begins to explore her taboo sexuality. Emma Stone delivers what may be her best performance yet as King, and bravely shows the emotional and physical tolls placed on her. She navigates the waters of misogynist professionals with wit and charm, relying on her strength of body and character to make her point. She shows vulnerability and burgeoning affection, especially when Andrea Riseborough enters the picture as her hairdresser and lover Marilyn Barnett. Riseborough masterfully makes a very difficult part that could easily be labeled negatively into a sympathetic, profoundly human character.
Steve Carell, who I hadn't thought well of until Hope Springs in 2012 but now turns out one great performance a year, serves up another amazing turn as Bobby Riggs, though he is overshadowed at every turn by Stone's brilliance. That's mostly the script's doing, though; this is the woman's movie, and there's not much place for an outspoken misogynistic chauvinist in it. Carell transforms much as he did in Foxcatcher, disappearing into the role, though, to his credit, here his flamboyance is more infuriating than in any of his comedies. Much like Carell's performance, though, directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris don't let the film buy into the extravagance or hype of the spectacle created by Riggs and the game's producers. Their film, seemingly indifferent as to the nature of tennis as a sport, focuses on the historic people and their contemporary social issues, making this film infinitely more resounding than most sports feel-good flicks out there.
IMDb: Battle of the Sexes
No comments:
Post a Comment