Lurking behind the crowd-pleasing veneer of 1970s set drama Battle of the Sexes is a depressing reminder that unequal pay remains a shamefully unresolved problem 44 years later. In the film, 29-year-old Billie Jean King is frustrated by the disparity between what male and female tennis players are paid, and it’s her annoyance at this injustice that acts as a propelling force for the plot.
King (Emma Stone) has just been triumphant at the 1972 US Open, but before she can finish celebrating, she finds out that the United States Lawn Tennis Association has announced a new prize fund, offering eight times less for women. In an act of rebellion alongside manager Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman), she launches the Women’s Tennis Association, designed to provide a more equal working environment for female tennis players. It irks the old boys of the sport, including misogynist ex-pro Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), who challenges her to the ultimate test, a match between the pair that will, in his mind, prove that women are lesser players than men.
There’s an unavoidable comparison to recent US politics to be made here. On one side we have the hard working, respectable woman, and on the other, there’s a chauvinistic, showboating man, eager to prove masculine superiority. It certainly adds an extra spikiness to the rivalry, our all-too-fresh experience of watching an attention-seeking buffoon try to bring a woman down on live television helping us root for King even more. Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy gives us more than enough reasons to gasp throughout with everyday sexism casually falling out of almost every male character’s mouth (“It’s not your fault, it’s biology!”).
It’s a film filled with necessary reminders that will bait an insecure male audience (there’s a reason the film has a 4.5 rating on IMDb before even being released) but there’s not quite enough within the mechanics of a plot to justify a two-hour running time. It’s a decent tennis movie, solidly told and choreographed, but it’s in the film’s depiction of a same-sex romance between King and her hairdresser, played beautifully by Andrea Riseborough, where things truly comes alive. At the time, King was married to a man, but when the pair meet, there’s an instant connection. There’s a clandestine electricity that radiates from their interactions, and also a genuine tenderness that develops in a time when such a relationship was almost impossible, at least within the public eye. It’s a finely handled dynamic, and Beaufoy deserves kudos for avoiding the easy route of lazily turning King’s husband Larry (no, not that one), into a villain. We feel for him as much as we do for the woozily romantic women.
It comes from Little Miss Sunshine directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Deyton, who bring a similar rousing vibe to the proceedings (the less said about their twee misstep Ruby Sparks the better). Stone is strong in a steely, unshowy role and it’s rewarding to see her outside of her comfort zone; Carell is an annoying and cartoonish presence but, well, so was Riggs. The attempts to flesh out his character via scenes at home, struggling with a gambling addiction and a disintegrating marriage with his beleaguered wife, don’t quite cut as deep as they could, but it does give a small opportunity to Elisabeth Shue, who nabs one of the film’s many nifty supporting roles. There’s also room for Fred Armisen as a redundant vitamin doctor, Bill Pullman as an odious sexist tennis champ, and the aforementioned Silverman as King’s commanding manager. It’s a shame, though, that the other women who make up King’s tennis tour are so interchangeable, not one possessing any particularly notable characteristic other than “plays tennis”.
Like any great sports film, everything is leading towards one final confrontation and after a slightly saggy middle section, things do pick up just in time. It’s an ending that will soar for many, a vital victory for those who need a lift, and a lingering shot of a “Billie Jean for president” poster acts as a reminder that the film was made with a contemporary grand slam in mind that didn’t quite take place as planned.
- Battle of the Sexes is screening at the Toronto film festival and will be released in the US on 22 September and in the UK on 24 November
