Talk About Movies: Part 4
10-27-2018
, 01:59 PM
10-28-2018
, 03:21 AM
Borg vs. McEnroe, Janus Metz Pedersen, 2017
From the age of 8 until 25, tennis was the most important thing in my life. I played on a collegiate national championship team and I failed at becoming a pro, although I did get to play a few big names like Yannick Noah, Jimmy Arias, Brad Gilbert and Tom Gullickson. I also got to play a few mixed doubles exhibitions with Chris Evert (her brother was my coach as a junior) and helped train Steffi Graf for a couple US Opens.
So Borg vs. McEnroe is obviously a movie in my wheelhouse, and relates the lives of the two combatants up to their famous 1980 Wimbledon finals match. Jimmy Connors was my favorite player, but Borg was a close second - but he was like a machine...you looked on in awe at his fitness, his almost robot-like non-emotive way of playing. John McEnroe was Super Brat, but exciting to watch. He was like a musician on the court, a genius with the tennis racket, you only held your breath while he played waiting for the inevitable emotional meltdown.
This movie is directed by Danish documentarian Pedersen, and it's a wise choice, as we get into the heads of both Borg and McEnroe, as children, young adults, and, finally, as the men who play one another.
The performances are pretty remarkable, especially Borg-lookalike, Sverrir Gudnason. It's an explosive performance, as he plays Borg as a seething volcano who has trained himself not to show any emotion on the court. Borg's actual son plays Borg as a young boy and does a bang up job of copying his dad's slap-shot backhand stroke. Stellan Skarsgård plays Borg's coach Lennart Bergelin, and it's amazing how much he resembles the real man.
Other unknowns play real tennis players like Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis, Peter Fleming, Brian Gottfried and others. And for me, it was like one, big nostalgia tour. Lots of fun seeing the guy I named my dog after (Vitas!) partying it up at Studio 54. The actor who plays McEnroe's dad also resembles the real man quite a bit, especially when he's wearing his famous floppy sailor's hat at matches.
Probably the only weak link is Shia LaBouf as McEnroe. He has the right manic energy and chip-on-his-shoulder personality, but he comes across as simply a douche, without the McEnroe charm.
This is much more than a movie about a tennis match, however...it's about the inner workings and psychology of what makes a champion. Both men are playing not only for themselves, but strong father figures. Both men push away family and friends in their drive to be No. 1.
The tennis sequences are pretty damn great...and they would have to be, as their big match takes up about 30 minutes of screen time. The filmmakers seamlessly blend their lead actors with their tennis doubles, so it never looks like either actor is not on the court.
The nostalgic factor is huge for someone like me, and seeing Borg's black-rainbow Donnay racket was a real blast from the past, as was the hair styles and Fila and Sergio Tachini tennis wear.
This is a good movie...probably a little more meaningful for someone like me, but still worth a look if you're not a tennis fan.
*********
A for tennis junkies like me
B- for others
From the age of 8 until 25, tennis was the most important thing in my life. I played on a collegiate national championship team and I failed at becoming a pro, although I did get to play a few big names like Yannick Noah, Jimmy Arias, Brad Gilbert and Tom Gullickson. I also got to play a few mixed doubles exhibitions with Chris Evert (her brother was my coach as a junior) and helped train Steffi Graf for a couple US Opens.
So Borg vs. McEnroe is obviously a movie in my wheelhouse, and relates the lives of the two combatants up to their famous 1980 Wimbledon finals match. Jimmy Connors was my favorite player, but Borg was a close second - but he was like a machine...you looked on in awe at his fitness, his almost robot-like non-emotive way of playing. John McEnroe was Super Brat, but exciting to watch. He was like a musician on the court, a genius with the tennis racket, you only held your breath while he played waiting for the inevitable emotional meltdown.
This movie is directed by Danish documentarian Pedersen, and it's a wise choice, as we get into the heads of both Borg and McEnroe, as children, young adults, and, finally, as the men who play one another.
The performances are pretty remarkable, especially Borg-lookalike, Sverrir Gudnason. It's an explosive performance, as he plays Borg as a seething volcano who has trained himself not to show any emotion on the court. Borg's actual son plays Borg as a young boy and does a bang up job of copying his dad's slap-shot backhand stroke. Stellan Skarsgård plays Borg's coach Lennart Bergelin, and it's amazing how much he resembles the real man.
Other unknowns play real tennis players like Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis, Peter Fleming, Brian Gottfried and others. And for me, it was like one, big nostalgia tour. Lots of fun seeing the guy I named my dog after (Vitas!) partying it up at Studio 54. The actor who plays McEnroe's dad also resembles the real man quite a bit, especially when he's wearing his famous floppy sailor's hat at matches.
Probably the only weak link is Shia LaBouf as McEnroe. He has the right manic energy and chip-on-his-shoulder personality, but he comes across as simply a douche, without the McEnroe charm.
This is much more than a movie about a tennis match, however...it's about the inner workings and psychology of what makes a champion. Both men are playing not only for themselves, but strong father figures. Both men push away family and friends in their drive to be No. 1.
The tennis sequences are pretty damn great...and they would have to be, as their big match takes up about 30 minutes of screen time. The filmmakers seamlessly blend their lead actors with their tennis doubles, so it never looks like either actor is not on the court.
The nostalgic factor is huge for someone like me, and seeing Borg's black-rainbow Donnay racket was a real blast from the past, as was the hair styles and Fila and Sergio Tachini tennis wear.
This is a good movie...probably a little more meaningful for someone like me, but still worth a look if you're not a tennis fan.
*********
A for tennis junkies like me
B- for others
10-28-2018
, 06:13 PM
10-29-2018
, 10:29 AM
