Review: Battle of the Sexes
If tennis remains the only sport in which men and women receive equal prize money, that is mostly due to the efforts of Billie Jean King. Considered one of the greatest players of all time with 39 Grand Slam titles under her belt, she was also a vocal advocate for gender equality. Arguably her greatest moment was winning the much-publicised "Battle of the Sexes" against Bobby Riggs, which not only changed the field of women's tennis but also public perception at a time when women were fighting for respect in a male-dominated world.
The famous battle has been depicted thrice onscreen - in the 2001 TV movie When Billie Beat Bobby starring Holly Hunter and Ron Silver, a 2013 documentary Battle of the Sexes, and now in the engrossing if sometimes problematic Battle of the Sexes with Emma Stone as King and Steve Carell as Riggs. The film is naturally inclined towards the former though the filmmakers wisely do not diminish the latter, who may have willingly "put the show in chauvinism" but was very much a man making a desperate attempt to stay in the spotlight.
Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) efficiently and breezily sets the table: King, the top women's tennis player at the time, is ruffled to discover that the cash prize for male tennis players is eight times that of the women's. Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman), head of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA), condescendingly explains that it's the men that audiences want to see because they are faster, stronger and more exciting. "It's simple biology," he says. King disagrees, they pull in the same punters so they should be paid the same as the men. When Kramer refuses to equalise the pay, King decides to form a rival league, the Women's Tennis Association, and convinces many top female tennis stars, including the sparky Rosie Casals (Natalie Morales), to risk their careers (Kramer banned them from playing in any slams, which included Wimbledon) and signing $1 contracts.
As King, the other players, and their publicist Gladys (a fantastic Sarah Silverman) secure sponsorship with Virginia Slims, sell tickets, promote the matches, and do whatever they can to further their cause, the married King finds herself in a more personal struggle: combating her attraction to free-spirited hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough). There's a lovely textural tangibility to their scenes together - the camera often enwombing them, heightening not only the intimacy but King's inner conflict at recognising her true self. She knows her homosexuality could scupper her career and the WTA, but also that it would hurt her husband, trainer and manager Larry (Austin Stowell), who has never been anything less than kind and supportive to her.
Meanwhile, Riggs is pushing himself back in the spotlight with his chatter about women belonging in the kitchen and bedroom and challenging King to a match to prove his point. When King refuses, he turns his attention to Australian Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee), the other top player of the day, and, when he resoundly beats her in straight sets, King can't help but accept Riggs' challenge, not necessarily to prove that women are better than men, but that women deserve as much respect.
Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris create a winning and satisfying drama, though there are points of contention. For one, there was no need to slightly demonise the old-fashioned Court, who comes off as bitchy and slightly vindictive. For Court, the game with Riggs was just that - a game - and it was only in hindsight that she acknowledged its greater symbolism. Court's curtsy as she accepted Riggs' flowers at the start of the match is also glossed over; strange, since that innocuous curtsy on her part outraged women who felt that she was displaying subservience.
Riggs, at least, is more than a one-dimensional sketch. An inveterate gambler and hustler, Riggs may have been a clown but he did have the talent to back up the braggadocio. A former World No.1, he was also a Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion. The filmmakers don't villainise him because Riggs wasn't one - he may not have had as much to lose as King but what he stood to sacrifice was just as significant to him, not only his resurrected celebrity but also his newly renewed bond with estranged son Larry (Lewis Pullman) and his marriage to the wealthy Priscilla (welcome back Elisabeth Shue!). One of the most affecting scenes in the entire film finds Riggs and Priscilla discussing the state of their marriage - the camera zooms in so close on Carell, who conveys the heartbreak beneath the constant show of foolishness with tremendous skill and depth of feeling. Nevertheless, the filmmakers seem somewhat intent on positing him as a fool - even the actual training he did for his match against Court is diluted down to an image of him prancing around in a sauna suit. Compare that with the training scenes afforded to King as she preps for the match against Riggs.
That said, Battle of the Sexes is still a satisfying affair, the eponymous showdown exciting, the period well-recreated, and King's achievement completely remarkable and resonant thanks to Stone's convincing portrayal of a woman who was never interested in maintaining the status quo.
Battle of the Sexes
Directed by: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Written by: Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carrell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Natalie Morales
