Sports and gender politics are consistently changing and evolving in today's world, but in the early 70's a more radical change was made with the 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King dubbed 'The Battle of the Sexes'.
As a biographical drama 'Battle of the Sexes' ticks all the boxes you would expect. It establishes it's main two characters background, it highlights the journey of their rivalry and it makes timely comparisons to today's society. From the outlook it looks like it's easy to make a story like this one, but in actual fact a story likes this puts a lot of pressure on the actors to deliver their characters drive and that's where Emma Stone and Steve Carell really shine. Emma Stone's performance is easily the best aspect of this film, despite the wig and glasses her performance was a lot less theatrical than I was expecting and found a good balance between subtlety and charisma.
The penultimate tennis match is quite a thrilling moment to watch, the way Dayton and Faris directed and shot this scene in particular was simplistic, but it was all the better for it. Although the film has great performances and is well directed, some of the writing has room for improvement. Some of the dialog is feels sappy and heavy handed when the film wants to discuss it's themes. The film also feels a little too long, during the second act there were moments where I could feel myself losing interest.
Overall, 'The Battle of the Sexes' is a film which is made with a lot of heart, and while some of that feels over the top, most of that passion for this story pays off.
Rating: 7/10
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