Reviews

I very much enjoy the game of tennis, and particularly enjoy its history, especially its progression in the post-war era, through the Civil Rights realm (throughout the world), and now to a gender-equality battles that continue on. That said, I went in to this film thinking 'specialty content,' 'strictly art house,' and 'interesting only to those who would be interested' sort of sub-genre of film. That's not what happened. What emerged, instead, was a portrait of a very complex character, certainly made more complex and challenging by the times, but who would have been a standout for her persona in almost any era. Far more than a mere 'sports film,' in other words, and with a poignant and very bittersweet ending. A final plug: the film has some very interesting narrators who guide you through the times, the contexts in which Gibson developed her tennis skills, and certainly the way she adapted around the times, which never fully embraced her unique blend of renegade posture and stance with her very keen awareness of how to play to her audience. The narrators become friends almost, not merely recounting how Gibson did this or that but the sometimes tortured way she processed the world around here. A wonderful movie experience in the sense that it fully surprised me and delivered far more than I had calculated it could.

Ever see at these film festivals these badge wearers with the lanyards, the premium seating, eyes bugged-eyed from all the darkness, the concentration? How could someone see that many movies in so concentrated a time? And why? Here's your answer, one of those utterly joyous discoveries deep in the festival catalog that makes everything - the expense, taking off from work for a week, the fatigue - completely worth it. Brighter movie minds than mine can comment on things like the movie antecedents at work here (there are a ton!), to how this movie compares with Dave Boyle's earlier efforts, etc. What I can relate is that coast-to-coast smile that came over me as the movie found its gear (early) and then just held for an hour and a half as it propelled forward with one crackling and comedic plot twist after another. Standout and surprisingly deep performances from Auoko Fujitani and Pepe Serna (so, so good to see him in a role where he gets the time and physical space to really round out his character), the whole cross- cultural noir thing, and these gorgeous wanders around old San Francisco. I've seen some great films here at the Philadelphia Film Festival thus far, but at the mid-way point this one is shaping up as the clear take-away memory. Why would someone want to see four films in a day in pursuit of that hard-to-convey sensation of those beautiful and magical connections between ideas, storyline, casting and portrayals? This is why. Here's hoping this charming and well-built movie finds the larger audience it so richly deserves.