In 'King Richard,' Venus and Serena Williams' Father Takes Too Much Credit

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers

(REVIEW) Joining this year’s wave of biopics is “King Richard,” the family-centric story of legendary tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams — and their dad, inspiration and first coach. 

The movie begins with the sisters as superstars on the tennis courts in Compton and ends with Venus’ first professional matches in the Bank of the West Classic in 1994. It focuses on Richard’s role and influence as a father in the lives of Venus and Serena, exploring how his tiger-like parenting created conflict but helped mold the athletes into who they are today. 

The movie is quickly appealing: Will Smith is an enigmatic, spot-on King Richard. Smith and Aunjanue Ellis, who play parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price, will share the outstanding performer of the year award at the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

If that’s not enough to prove that the acting in this project is phenomenal, even Venus and Serena have offered their approval of the story. Both are executive producers on the project, something they only agreed to after they saw the movie. The sisters love the movie and the way it portrays their dad. 

It may as well have earned Beyoncé’s stamp, too, as the credits feature her new song “Be Alive.”  

The narrative, which centers around a period of only a few years and a different main character, breaks the curse of many other biopics. It’s an enthralling story — rather than a book report — on women who mean so much to American culture. 

Oracene became a Jehovah’s Witness in the 1980s and raised her family in the faith. Serena has since been outspoken about her faith. She has frequently thanked “Jehovah God” after her matches and has mentioned a desire to further immerse herself in the faith. She’s also confirmed evangelizing door-to-door. 

After a notorious outburst at the 2009 U.S. Open, Serena described being called before elders to discuss her behavior. She said in 2018 that she wouldn’t be celebrating the first birthday of her daughter in accordance with Jehovah’s Witness tradition. 

In “King Richard,” mentions of this faith are embedded subtly into the narrative for the most part: a prayer at a burger joint, a mention here or there of attending the Kingdom Hall regularly. 

In the film, Oracene expresses the personal impact of her faith, though it’s most often in her arguments with Richard. When Richard privately makes decisions that affect the family without consulting her, she says the only reason she doesn’t disrespect him is because of her faith. Later, in a theatrically explosive brawl, she confesses the only reason she hasn’t left him is because of her higher calling. 

Her character stands in stark contrast to Richard. They both share the same passion and often the same stubbornness. But where Richard is overbearing and at times obnoxious, Oracene is encouraging and steadfast. When she needs to be, she’s a quiet sufferer, and it’s clear that’s because of her faith. 

It’s here that the movie encounters its main flaw: It focuses too heavily on Richard. Maybe that’s an unfair critique for a movie that proclaims in the title who its focus is. But Richard is overbearing and at times obnoxious — a self-aggrandizing man who makes his story nearly myth to all the press he attracts to himself. That’s true both in the film and in real life. 

And in both, the actual heroes are Venus and Serena, whose strength and abilities have altered tennis as a sport and the public perception of Black, female athletes. 

So why aren’t they the stars of “King Richard”?

It may be because Richard was, in comparison, that loud and mythological figure. He’s a fascinating one to memorialize on the screen. Or maybe, when telling the story of two equally important tennis players, it’s best to focus on a third party than have them compete for screen time — this last one seems to be true, as the family focus is done particularly well.

That also means that forays into Richard’s stories — his thoughts, his feelings, his past, his struggles, his ego — are the most common elements, more common than even Venus and Serena, who are rarely shown save for their finesse on the court. 

Their depth is missed from the movie, as is Oracene’s.

In a 2012 profile of Venus and Serena for the New York Times, John Jeremiah Sullivan suggested the same thing about portrayals of the family:

Richard Williams often receives an undue share of attention in discussions of the Williams sisters, their game and how they got started. Partly this is appropriate: he’s their coach. Partly it’s because, for many years, he demanded, or at least commanded, that attention with his bizarre pronouncements and antics. But all of this has led to a persistent distortion in the telling of the Williams story, which is, after all, a story of powerful women — not just Venus and Serena, but the household of women who surrounded and nurtured them.

That may suggest that it isn’t so much a problem of “King Richard” as it was, well, Richard. Maybe he’s unavoidable as a public figure. 

If that’s the case, and King Richard is unavoidable, it’s alright to hope for more on Venus and Serena — ideally, where they’re the stars, as they deserve to be. 

King Richard is available on HBO Max and in theaters Nov. 19. 

Jillian Cheney is a contributing culture writer for Religion Unplugged. She also writes on American Protestantism and evangelical Christianity and was Religion Unplugged’s 2020-21 Poynter-Koch fellow. You can find her on Twitter @_jilliancheney.