The rivalry between the ice-cool Bjorn Borg and volatile John McEnroe dominated tennis headlines in the late 70s/early 80s. Not interested in anything but being the best, Borg retired from tennis at the age of just 26 when the American replaced him as world number one in 1981.
But not before, in 1980, Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, beating McEnroe in five sets in what is regarded as the greatest final ever seen at the All-England club. Borg vs McEnroe is centred round the 1980 tournament as pressure mounts on Borg to make history.
Sverrir Gudnason (Blowfly Park, Original) is appropriately cool and emotionless as Borg – and his likeness to the Swede is uncanny. Wedding plans (to Romanian tennis player Mariana Simionescu) and Wimbledon preparations do not go hand-in-hand, adding to the pressure. An emerging McEnroe (a wonderful supporting role from Shia LeBeouf – Transformers, Lawless) has his own points to prove – to both his family and the tennis world in general.
Mixing flashbacks to both men’s childhoods (interestingly Borg was a wilful and volatile teenage tennis player) with current relationship issues both on and off the court, director Janus Metz (Armadillo, Fra Thailand til Thy) brings his documentary aesthetic to ultimately let the tennis and the final itself speak for the film. Overheads, close-ups, cropping add to the excitement, making up for a somewhat oversimplified and stodgy off-court narrative.
(It makes for an interesting accompaniment with the 1960s-set The Battle of the Sexes).
Rating: 58%
It’s a solid telling of the story of tennis-ace Billie Jean King and her ‘battle’ with 1970s male chauvinism: the disparity of prize money in male and female tournaments alongside the baiting by former male world number one, Bobby Riggs.
An Opinion or Two 