Ellis overrides all possible obstacles to giving a conventional performance and comes up aces in her remarkable turn here. Their mother is phenomenally played by Aunjanue Ellis who has a tough job here as Richard Williams’s wife, Brandy, who is forced to say what is necessary to keep big time dreamer Richard grounded in some sort of reality as he tends to run off with himself thinking that everything he says is going to become fact immediately. Venus is the first to get recognition and is trained professionally as a tennis player and she is initially chosen over her sister Serena. Venus and Serena Williams are portrayed by two fine actresses here–Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton. It may sound familiar and, at times, it is but Smith elevates the material far above a generic run-of-the-mill sports film. It is a heartwarming story of overcoming obstacles and triumphing against all odds.
You can envision potential audiences thinking that this new picture will be simply a tennis movie from the trailer but it is much more than that. Nobody does inspirational dramatic roles like Smith does and in King Richard, the versatile actor embodies another real life character, Richard Williams–the father of renowned athletes Venus and Serena Williams. Smith has played some terrific roles over his career and his most notable lead performance before this new film was his Oscar-nominated part as a real-life person who overcame homelessness to triumph in the workforce in the 2006 drama, The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith delivers his most powerful performance to date in an entertaining sports drama directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard. Hebron, Jimmy Walker Jr., Kevin Dunn and Brad Greenquist. King Richard (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starring Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew, Daniele Lawson, Layla Crawford, Erika Ringor, Noah Bean, Craig Tate, Josiah Cross, Calvin Clausell Jr., Vaughn W.