“Times change. You should know, you just changed them.”
Battle of the Sexes brings to life the lead up to one of the most watched sporting events of all-time, the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carrell). As society wrestled with the burgeoning women’s liberation movement, King and Riggs are caught between the turmoil of their personal lives and what their on-court performance means for the world at large.
The film’s title isn’t just a reference to the tennis match of the same name, but also to the fight between women of the era who began to challenge the established gender roles and expectations and those men who would wish to see things remain the same. The film begins with a topic that remains pertinent today, the fight by working women for parity with men in compensation for work. There were numerous references of men liking women only when they were in the kitchen or bedroom but recoiling at any attempts at displaying competency outside of those realms. The female tennis pros went to extreme lengths and sacrificed much to combat this and forge a way forward for women who wanted more; creating their own tour that would pay them closer to their worth, despite being banished from the established USLTA.
Another looming cultural shift that was surprisingly well portrayed in the film was that of Billie Jean’s personal journey with her sexuality. Battle of the Sexes contains a love story set in unwelcoming times that is just as prominent and important as the tennis match with implications for gender. This kind of character exploration is when the film is at its best. At a time when the world is ready for neither strong women or lesbians, we see the toll it takes on King when she falls hard quickly for a hairdresser named Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough). The first time Billie Jean and Marilyn meet is perhaps the best on-screen portrayal of the feeling of meeting someone for the first time and having that instant electric chemistry.
Carrell is excellent as Bobby Riggs, providing both comedy and an interesting look inside Riggs’ mind. He displays the compulsion of someone addicted to not just gambling, but the thrill and adulation that comes from winning. This inner turmoil playing out for the world to see was a great watch. Stone also gives a very good performance as King, capturing the confusion amidst the times. Alan Cumming also stands out in a small supporting role as the ladies’ fashion designer named Ted who offers supportive advice and light at the end of the tunnel for Billie Jean as she discovers her sexuality while also providing some comedic relief for the film.
All in all, while Battle of the Sexes is a biopic that hits some oft repeated beats for the genre, when it does touch upon prescient issues, it hits some pretty good highs. If you enjoy a night at the movies, it’s worthy of your consideration.
Image: Fox Searchlight
