The poster for the documentary “On the Line: The Richard Williams Story” is cleverly scathing. Against a white backdrop stands one of the most ridiculed, and most recently celebrated, figures via last year's sports biopic "King Richard" in professional sports: Venus and Serena Williams' father, Richard. He has a tennis racket in his hand and is dressed in tennis whites. It wasn't what he normally wore when he and his wife Oracene (Price) coached their daughters on the public courts of Compton, Los Angeles. But the look was de rigueur for the white tennis establishment that Venus and Serena took over and then transformed.
In "On the Line", Williams has the opinion of him. As expected, he is frank, occasionally funny, but also vulnerable, especially since he is becoming frail and has suffered from health problems. Directed by Stuart McClave, the documentary isn't exactly a vanity project, but it is based on Williams' version of what quickly became the storied career of daughters Serena and Venus.
Director: Stuart McClave
Writer: Stuart McClave
Stars: Katrina Adams, Kelvin Brown, Dale Caldwell
Some of what is discussed here will be familiar to you, such as his love for Compton. He expresses his gratitude to the Crips gang members who stood guard at the park where the girls practiced. He once again shares the vision of tennis stardom for his yet-to-be-conceived daughters, which came to him after watching a match in which the winner won $40,000.
Most telling here is his return to Cedar Grove, a suburb of Shreveport, Louisiana. The walking tour of the shack he grew up in underlines how classism and racism shaped both resentment and resilience. The film consults LSU sociology professor Dr. Kenna Franklin about the importance of Shreveport, segregation, and the role of the Ku Klux Klan in the area. Her memories of his mother, Julia Mae Williams, who raised Richard and his four siblings alone, and his father (who, Williams says, "did nothing for me") offer a new appreciation of the man and his distinctive personality. and very personal mission.
When asked why Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson weren't mentioned much, McClave responded through the film's publicist: "When I asked Mr. Williams specifically about Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, he had great respect for them, but he was clear in his point of view. that he felt that they had not transformed the sport of tennis in the same way that someone like Jackie Robinson or Muhammad Ali had transformed their respective sports.” This may be true to Williams' intent (the film was produced by Williams' son Chavoita LeSane and McClave), but expanded context, even if quickly dispensed with, would have added necessary veracity to the historical record, a record that Williams can correct but shouldn't. 'city.
Neither Serena, Venus nor Oracene Price have fresh interviews here. All of his comments come from archival interviews or those home movies. His absence doesn't ruin the project, there's a lot to learn, but it raises questions about what's left unsaid. (And what about the documentary that has the same title as Serena's 2009 autobiography?) Left to share insights about raising Williams' children is former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Patricia Moore.
A black sports psychologist would have been an interesting addition to the small but impressive list of interviewees who weighed in on Williams' importance. The portrayal would have become more nuanced on issues of parenting and competition that aren't wholly defined by racism.
For information on the world of tennis, the director turns to the former president of the United States Tennis Association, Katrina Adams (the first person of color and the first woman to lead the organization) and Dr. Dale Caldwell, tennis historian and founder of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. Each one does a convincing job of suggesting and then answering the question that the white tennis world was collectively asking: "Who is this guy?" And Macci's memories of Williams at the start of Venus and Serena's careers are priceless, as is the reunion between these two men.
The Williams sisters (and their parents' job as protectors and coaches) crucially changed the faces of tennis. Billie Jean King and Pam Shriver are lighting up tennis during the initial period when the sisters arrived. Even so, several of its competitors' opinions did not age well. Martina Navratilova, a maverick in her own right, said at the time that she didn't think the women's circuit had a problem with racism.
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