Biopics typically come in two forms: Big picture or small scale.
Many birth-to-death biopics trip over an unwieldy story-line, excruciating length and blunt messages.
On the other side of the coin, many of the more successful biopics focus on a particular event or incident with microscope-like precision.
Movies like Lincoln and Selma fall into this category – the former covering the Emancipation Proclamation while the latter covers Martin Luther King’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.
Battle of the Sexes falls favourably into the second category.
The movie covers one of women’s sporting history’s proudest moments.
It’s 1973, the second wave of feminism is approaching, men are increasingly threatened and gender equality is a major topic of conversation.
Billie Jean King (played by Emma Stone) is determined to be the number one female tennis player while living life on her terms.
However, tennis representatives and the status quo have other ideas.
Meanwhile, former tennis great Bobby Riggs (Steve Carrell) is wallowing in post-retirement/middle-aged crisis mode.
His gambling and impulsions force him to live off his wife and son’s means.
As the two struggle to cope with their quarrels, Riggs comes up with a unique concept: One game...international coverage...and both players putting everything on the line.
Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) and writer Simon Beaufoy serve up an even-handed and effervescent re-creation of events.
The movie doesn’t see it necessary to take sides, giving our leads more depth and nuance than expected.
King is commended for her efforts in putting women’s tennis in the spotlight.
The first hour rarely mentions King and Riggs’ match, choosing to focus on her burgeoning relationship with hairdresser Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough).
Meanwhile, Riggs – known as the ultimate chauvinist pig – is all show and no go. Underneath the wacky antics and bright personality, he is little more than a wounded puppy dog.
Like the best sports biopics, the game itself is pushed to the background. King and Riggs’ love for the game drives the character and emotional growth throughout.
Issues of Gender identity and marriage equality are given their due, woven delicately into its quieter moments.
Battle of the Sexes, although not quite aesthetically cinematic, has enough charm and attitude to be a winner.
