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Three Tennis Films Screened This Month Cover Different Periods Of Sport's Evolution

Three tennis movies are screening at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival this month, and each one covers a "different period in the evolution of the sport," according to Steven Zeitchik of the L.A. TIMES. "BATTLE OF THE SEXES," "BORG/MCENROE" and "LOVE MEANS ZERO" are all showing. The "early days of professionalization and the Open Era" are featured in the BILLIE JEAN KING-BOBBY RIGGS story of the early '70s seen in "Battle of the Sexes," while the "dawn of an international golden age" is the focus of the JOHN MCENROE and BJORN BORG moment of the early '80s. Meanwhile, the "waning pre-corporate days of characters and bad behavior" in the ANDRE AGASSI-BORIS BECKER chapter of the early '90s is at the heart of "Love Means Zero." JASON KOHN’s "psychology-rich Showtime documentary" is about the "influential and controversial coach NICK BOLLETTIERI, who fractiously mentored" Agassi and scores of other champions. Kohn said, "They really are like three chapters in the history of tennis, each with something new to say about tennis." Zeitchik noted the release dates "will be spread out: 'Battle' opens Sept. 22 and 'Borg/McEnroe' and 'Love Means Zero' will likely debut next year." Tennis would "seem an ideal sport for the silver screen," yet somehow it has "avoided Hollywood's gaze." The "biggest challenge may be technical," as unlike other sports, tennis "can’t be faked" (LATIMES.com, 9/11).

BATTLE IT OUT: In N.Y., Lorne Manly noted EMMA STONE stars as King while STEVE CARELL plays Riggs in "Battle of the Sexes." The film's directors, JONATHAN DAYTON and VALERIE FARIS, "made King’s personal life a bigger part of the movie" in a "significant tweak to the script." King, who came out in the '80s and is now a widely admired advocate for LGBTQ groups, was in '73 "married to a man and only beginning to grapple with her sexuality, falling for a female hair stylist." Dayton said, "It really did happen this way, where Billie Jean began her first affair with a woman at a time when she [was] one of the most famous women in America, if not the world. So that seemed like an important story to tell. And at the same time, she was fighting this very public battle for equality." Faris noted King "was starting" the WTA and "had so much at stake" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/9). MASHABLE's Angie Han wrote Faris, Dayton and writer SIMON BEAUFOY "don't add a whole lot of bells and whistles to the Battle of the Sexes story -- it's more or less a straightforward telling of two overlapping narratives." What the film "understands is that this match looked entirely different depending on which side you were rooting for" (MASHABLE.com, 9/12).

REVIEWS ARE IN: COLLIDER.com's Matt Goldberg wrote "Borg/McEnroe" feels like the "work of a fan first and a storyteller second." It is "fine to be enthusiastic about your source material" and there is a "deep admiration for the game." However, that "doesn’t really bother to explain it" to audiences. SVERRIR GUDNASON, who plays Borg, and SHIA LABEOUF, who plays McEnroe, both "give great performances, but the script never gives them much to work with." It "feels like the script is forcing them into particular roles rather than trying to capture the real complexities of human beings." The entirety of the film is "pitched at the level of a myth, and the problem with adapting real-life sports is that the mythic status already falls into place" (COLLIDER.com, 9/8). In London, Jimmy Nsubuga wrote "Borg/McEnroe" is "slightly better than your average sports movie," although it "didn’t quite free itself from all the cliches associated with the genre." But there was "a lot to like" (METRO.co.uk, 9/8). VOGUE's John Powers wrote "Borg/McEnroe" is "quite possibly the weakest" of the three tennis films being screened. "Battle of the Sexes" is "more fun and more historically meaningful, while there’s strong advance buzz on 'Love Means Zero.'" "Borg/McEnroe" does feature an "enjoyably shallow Scandinavian production." And for "all its limitations," the film "served its purpose and left the opening-night crowd happy" (VOGUE.com, 9/8).

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