United Kingdom, United States of America

DramaComedyHistory

SportsTennis1970sTennis playerBiographyBased on true storyFemme fataleBattle of the sexesFemale athleteDeterminationWomen's rightsChauvinisimTennis matchExhibition match

Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Elisabeth Shue

Simon Beaufoy

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Decibel Films, Cloud Eight Films, Ingenious Media

Taglines: He made a bet. She made history.

The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

Reviews:

Author: John Chard
I'm not saying women are better. I've never said that. I'm saying we deserve some respect. Battle of the sexes is directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and written by Simon Beaufoy. It stars Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Natalie Morales, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Eric Christian Olsen, Alan Cumming and Elisabeth Shue. Music is by Nicholas Britell and cinematography by Linus Sandgren. Back in 1973 there was a tennis match - a show event - where self proclaimed media hustler Booby Riggs (Carrel) took on supreme ladies champion of the era Billie Jean King (Stone). It would be tagged as The Battle Of The Sexes and the importance of such has echoed through time to still be relevant today. Here we have a film running at two hours in length that actually plays more as a King biography than it does a piece about the tennis match at pic's closure. Why not just call your film Billie Jean King? That would still have worked and been more closer to the themes playing out. On the King biography terms it's a fascinating and engrossing film, her battle with her sexuality issues - and the media threats that such a thing of the era would produce - and her wonderfully stoic stance for women's acceptance rights in sport. Unfortunately since the focus is more in this area the film becomes repetitive and over stuffed, and crucially it sadly puts the Bobby Riggs story firmly into the background. However, there's a lot to like on show here if one can forgive it its ill thought out unbalancing act. The cast performances across the board are top line. Stone and Carell are kind of a given, the latter really nailing the characterisation, but key turns by Riseborough, Olsen, Silverman and a wonderfully flamboyant Cumming light up the period play. The last third as we head towards the match of the title is excellent, characterisations have been set up for maximum impact, while the writers do not pander to gloating or PC banner waving to leave us on a positive and thought provoking note. If only the Riggs axis had been given more meaty substance, and the mid-section not practically slow to a snails pace, then we would have had a better movie more befitting the title - and historical event - than the one we get. 6/10