How Much Is Real (& What It Left Out)

The biopic King Richard explores the upbringing of Tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams and the controversial coaching method of their father, varying in real-life accuracy. Rather than set the primary focus on tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams (Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton), director Reinaldo Marcus Green instead decides to zero in on the controversial figure of Richard Williams (Will Smith), the athletes’ outspoken father. Smith underwent a startling transformation to accurately capture Richard’s speech, movements, attitude, and aesthetic, focusing on the movie’s authenticity.

The cast of characters in King Richard represent their real-life examples fairly accurately. Focusing on Richard’s story is a newer lens through which audiences can digest the background and upbringing that helped shape Venus and Serena Williams. The father is cited as putting his daughters through training too early and too harshly. The movie puts forth the idea that he might have gone too far in mapping out their lives. Richard Williams utilized several questionable tactics with his daughters to put them on the road to success, and there are aspects left out of the film.

Richard’s Plan For His Daughters Was Real

Richard Planned His Daughers’ Futures Before Their Conception

Sports biopics based on tragic real-life stories often feature parents with questionable motives for their prodigal children’s futures. Richard Williams is no different; his 85-page plan for his daughters’ lives was real. Even more shockingly, the plan was written before their conception. Some may see the plan as incredible, considering that a large majority of it actually came to pass. Others might find it concerning that a father would plan out his children’s lives without their input. Either way, the plan plays a major role in the film, and its creation, follow-through, and execution are all very real.

One of the few ways in which the plan’s presentation is questionable regards Richard’s reasoning behind its origins. In Will Smith’s realistic performance as Richard, he states that he wrote up the plan after watching Virginia Ruzici playing on television, and he notices how much money she makes. He also cites that there aren’t enough Black Americans playing tennis, and decides to get his daughters involved to give opportunities to other Black players that are excluded from the sport. However, only the first reason was ever cited by Richard as the inspiration for the plan.

Their Sister Isha Was Also A Tennis Player

Isha Was Also A Tennis Player, But King Richard Doesn’t Focus Much On Her

Something that isn’t mentioned in King Richard is Isha Price’s (Daniele Lawson) short-lived tennis ambitions. Will Smith’s character doesn’t force sibling rivalry onto Venus and Serena, rather, he makes sure that the sisters remain humble and support one another. However, it’s interesting that the film doesn’t include older sister Isha Price’s real-life tennis career. Before Isha went on to become a lawyer, she briefly trained with her stepfather before pulling out due to a back injury. Isha was talented as a tennis player, however, her injury forced her to put those dreams aside.

In reality, Isha Price was fine with the film’s omission of her tennis potential in her early life. Venus and Serena got executive producer credits for King Richard, as did Isha Price, but she took a far more active role in the Will Smith-centered biopic. Price was on set for most filming days and was imperative to the film’s realistic portrayal of the Williams family. She often brought tidbits of information to the actors about their family life and growing up with Richard as their offbeat and ambitious father.

Source

Will Smith’s King Richard Role Restored A 18-Year-Old Oscars Streak That His $48.6M Box Office Bomb Broke

Although Will Smith’s $48.6M box office bomb had broken his incredible 18-year-old Academy Award streak, King Richard finally restored it in 2021.

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Richard’s Harrowing Childhood In Shreveport, Louisiana Was Real

Richard’s Challenging Upbringing And Experiences With Racism Were Very Real

In King Richard, the protagonist reveals some of the harrowing hardships he faces during his childhood in Shreveport, Louisiana. Richard talks about appalling experiences, such as having to outrun the Ku Klux Klan and various other violent activities within the community. The most shocking thing about his stories is that they were all completely true.

The real Richard Williams was born in 1942 in the pre-civil rights South. Thus, he faced awful acts of targeted racism during his childhood and did, in fact, have several run-ins with the Ku Klux Klan. Part of the reason King Richard‘s reviews are so good is because of Will Smith’s portrayal of a man who faces unfair odds and succeeds anyway. The fact that he is able to come from such a dreadful place and time and come out alive to become who he is today, is nothing short of a miracle.

The Gang Violence Really Happened

Richard Didn’t Witness A Gang Shooting, But He Did Find The Man’s Body

A subplot of King Richard features an older gang member who is harassing Richard’s 16-year-old stepdaughter, Tunde Price (Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew). At first, Richard tries to resolve the conflict calmly, telling the gang member that his daughter is a minor and that she’s trying to study and to leave her alone. Because of this, Richard also becomes a target. He suffers numerous beatings from the gang until he decides to take matters into his own hands and goes after them with a gun.

Before he can approach the gang member in question, however, the man is shot and killed in a drive-by. In the scene, Will Smith plays the scene with calculated suspense, as the audience simultaneously prays that the character doesn’t shoot but hopes the gang member will finally go away.

Richard Williams’ own book Black and White: The Way I See It reveals that the gang violence depicted in King Richard was real– to an extent. According to his autobiography, he really did go after gang members after repeated harassment of him and his daughter. However, he wrote that in reality, he couldn’t find them at first, and on his way home he encountered the gang member already dead in the street. So while there may have been a drive-by, Richard wasn’t there to witness it. Presumably, the experience was changed in the film in order to build suspense.

Richard Did Use Extreme Training Tactics

Richard’s Excessive Tennis Practice Schedule Was Real

Richard Williams’ training tactics are what bring a level of controversy to the Williams’ sister’s father, much like Will Smith’s own promotion of his children’s careers. In King Richard, their dad is shown bringing them to practice at the Compton court before and after school, making them play in the rain, watching tennis matches on constant repeat, and touting his daughters around to various coaches asking for free training. However, the film has received criticism for going too easy on Richard, given the family’s involvement in producing the biopic.

Much of the rigorous training depicted in the film is true. According to The New York Times, Isha Price states that the girls were required to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning, practice tennis, go to school, and then play tennis again. Smith does a good job at maintaining a balance of portraying harsh and demanding without crossing the line to abuse. In a profile in The New Yorker, the real Williams recalls ripping the heads off of Venus’ dolls to discourage early motherhood and forbidding his daughters from dating, which isn’t seen in King Richard.

Sources: The New York Times, The New Yorker

King Richard

Based on the true story that will inspire the world, Warner Bros. Pictures’ King Richard follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever. Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard plans to take Venus and Serena Williams from the streets of Compton, California, to the global stage as legendary icons. 

Director

Reinaldo Marcus Green

Release Date

November 19, 2021

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Runtime

138 minutes