On to King Richard and Belfast

Having no expectations or knowing little about the movie you’re going to see might not seem advantageous, but sometimes it can stop you from avoiding movies you will enjoy.

Tennis is not a sport I find interesting or exciting. Growing up less than twenty minutes away from the Tennis Hall of Fame, the game was more of an annoyance than interesting. Venus and Serena have been big names in sports for as long as I can remember. What could I possibly not know about how they came to be two of the G.O.A.Ts?

Those thoughts would have made our double feature at the movie theater for the Oscars very different. I would have missed out if I had looked up the movie before heading to the theater.

King Richard transported the audience back to the early nineties. The film kept us riveted despite knowing that Venus and Serena go on to light the tennis world on fire.

Will Smith was the perfect choice for the role of Richard Williams. It was clear he spent a lot of time nailing down the mannerisms and speech of the real Williams. While all of that was critical to the role, the most essential piece of Smith’s performance is the lightheartedness. Without that, the character would have been as enjoyable. It would have been hard to let go of how calculating Williams was.

Aunjanue Ellis does a phenomenal job as Oracene Williams. I loved watching the interactions between her and Smith on screen. My favorite moment in her performance was in the hotel room with her daughters getting ready for Venus’ first pro match. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said I was watching a mother with her two daughters.

It was well crafted with exceptional performances from everyone in the cast. Both Smith and Ellis have a good chance in the Lead Acting categories. However, King Richard might be just out of contention in terms of the Best Picture race. The rose-colored lens through which we see the film is probably the biggest hindrance to this film. There are darker angles to this story but left unexplored and sitting like the elephant in the room.

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is not a biopic. He opted to based upon Branagh’s childhood growing up in Belfast during “The Troubles.” And this might sound counter-intuitive, but framing the story through a fictionalized family allowed more realism to show through the story.

Would a son insert insinuations of his mother being unfaithful to his father? Would he show himself having panic attacks and crying over a stolen Turkish Delight? Maybe some writers would be able to throw up the family’s secrets onto the silver screen, but I think many wouldn’t be able to do it.

Belfast shows us a very dark and complicated period of Northern Ireland’s history through the eyes of a young boy. And I don’t think any of the complexity is lost by giving the story to a child. We don’t get a more comprehensive view of the conflict, but we don’t need to. Buddy’s neighborhood acts as a perfect microcosm.

The idea children don’t understand what’s going on or that they should be isolated from events is almost mocked here. Buddy cannot be shielded from the conflict. In many ways, his reactions are no different from the adults in his life. His mother refuses to leave the neighborhood because it’s what she’s always known. Buddy has the panic attack his mother probably wants to have over the suggestion of going to England. He even refuses to subscribe to the religious divisions like his father as he unapologetically crushes on the most intelligent girl in his class who is Catholic.

Jude Hill (Buddy) should have received recognition for his work on this film. His performance was incredible. Hill performed in scenes with Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds and still managed to keep our focus on Buddy.

Both Dench and Hinds are up for awards in a supporting role. I think it’s a battle between DeBose and Dench in the Supporting Actress category. Supporting Actor, on the other hand, is anyone’s game.

At this point, only Drive My Car is the only film I have yet to watch, and of those, I think the race stands between Power of the Dog, CODA, and Belfast.