By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Maiken Baird | Michelle Major
Country: united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 99
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2376024/combined
Bruce says: “Disclaimer: I am a huge tennis fan and, more specifically, a great fan of the Williams sisters. With that in mind, I hope that I am objective in reviewing VENUS AND SERENA, a documentary about the two women. This film was four years in the planning stage and the Williams sisters were reluctant to embark on the project. Like many documentary filmmakers who have a vision Maiken Baird and Michelle Major were ready to film VENUS AND SERENA when both became injured and it was unclear
what kind of film this might become.
“Much about the two tennis legends has been well documented. But reading about events and seeing them are two different experiences. For example, reading or hearing about their childhood in Compton, California is not the same as seeing the weeds on the tennis courts and learning how their father had to beg for used tennis balls so they could practice. Wonderful archival footage gives us a firm grasp of how they lived before fame and fortune were in their distant future.
“Richard Williams is the Svengali behind their success. His motivations may have been less than noble but he did see the two girls as a pathway to escape the ghetto. A tennis coach from Florida named Rick Macci flew to Los Angeles to see Venus. He offered her free coaching and moved the family to Florida. That relationship did not last. As soon as Venus broke into the professional ranks she got a $12 million contract with Reebok that changed the lives of the whole family. Oracene, the girls’ mother, is cautious not to reveal too much personal information. She, too, has trained the girls. And she quietly divorced their father in 2002.
“The two sisters live together in Palm Beach Gardens and guard their private lives carefully. The filmmakers captured many honest moments as the two fixed meals and endured endless therapies to get them back on the courts. Venus has a rare virus and Serena is recovering from an embolism. Not much is said about Serena’s foot injury that led up to her physical problems. The film also covers the murder of their half-sister Yetunde in California and the famous racist incident at Indian Wells, a tournament the two will always refuse to revisit in spite of the rules of professional tennis.
“In spite of Venus jumpstarting their careers, it was Serena who first won a Grand Slam, the U. S. Open, at the age of seventeen. Venus won five Grand Slams before Serena won her second. Now she has 15 Grand Slam trophies. Much commentary is made about how Venus has always been protective of Serena and that may color her ability to be competitive in their matches. That said; there might never again be two athletes from the same family so closely competitive.
“Each of the sisters has their own business that keeps them busy when they are not playing tennis. Serena designs clothing and Venus, interiors. Both women have a great since of humor. They were quite funny in analyzing Serena’s famous outbursts over bad calls in major matches. Serena claims she has several personas; Serena is the composed #1 tennis player; Megan is the mean one; and Taquanda is the rough and decidedly un-Christian one who yells at umpires. 4 cats
“(VENUS AND SERENA screened at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival.)”