Aug 19, 2018
Hi everyone!
Funny story. A few months ago, I quietly launched a Patreon page, before I got busy with the weekly digest and began working on Takeover Tuesday. I’ll have more about Takeover Tuesday later this week, but imagine my surprise when I opened my e-mail last week and saw the podcast had its first genuine sponsor: Andrew Campbell. For this podcaster, it was like winning the lottery and gave me a fresh boost of energy to continue podcasting. Thank you so much, Andrew! And if you want to contribute to our Patreon account, head on over to patreon.com/OneMoviePunch and check out the levels of sponsorship. Any amount helps keep this podcast, and this podcaster, going.
Which leads us to the next topic before the review. Now that I have a genuine Sponsor, it’s time to unveil another new theme day, slightly ahead of schedule: Sponsor Sundays. Every Sunday, I’ll turn to our sponsors and patrons for a movie to watch and review. It can be any film I am able to access by major streaming services or in wide distribution in the theaters. Every contributor at the Podcast Sponsor or Podcast Patron level will be eligible for at least one film selection, and placed into a lottery for future Sunday selections. Just think, you could make me watch any number of box office flops or b-movie masterpieces. No matter what, though, I’ll give you my honest opinion.
And now...
Today’s movie is “Borg vs. McEnroe” (2017), the international drama directed by Janus Metz and written for the screen by Ronnie Sandahl. The film follows the famous rivalry between Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf) as Borg attempts to win a fifth consecutive Wimbledon tournament. The film focuses not just on each person, but also the media frenzy surrounding the match and the rivalry itself.
Spoilers ahead.
I don’t really care for tennis. I tried playing it as a younger man, and I wasn’t any good at it. I tried watching it in person and on television, and couldn’t really get into it. I did have a brief fascination with Andre Agassi, when his star was on the rise, but only because he had long hair like me, and now he’s bald. I know there are people out there who are die-hard tennis fans, but that’s just not me. So, imagine my surprise to find myself suddenly very interested in tennis, and this amazing rivalry, while watching this film.
Ronnie Sandahl crafts a screenplay that examines all aspects of the historic match between Borg and McEnroe in 1980. The film has a solid backbone surrounding the Wimbledon tournament, but also uses flashbacks to describe each player’s background, how they were similar, how they were different, and in the case of McEnroe, how he was inspired by Borg, right down to the famous headband. Janus Metz brings the film to life by staying character focused, and using the right amount of editing during the tennis portions to convey not the realism, but the emotion of the match, in a way where even I, someone who doesn’t care about tennis, could honestly feel by the end. It also conveyed the extreme loneliness of being a superstar athlete, a feeling that few people can know and understand.
The film doesn’t stand without a great cast, though. Sverrir Gudnason is excellent as Borg, keeping his face as calm as possible, so that every crack exposes the rage he’s been keeping down since childhood. Shia LaBeouf channels his famous YouTube meme into John McEnroe, not just the intensity, but also the willingness to take it to the limit, which works excessively well in this case for this character. I also really loved the period-perfect sets, costumes, and video editing, particularly the mass media.
“Borg vs. McEnroe” (2017) is an exceptional period piece focused on an intense rivalry, exploring the character, the sport, the fans, and the media coverage. The writing, the direction, the acting, the costumes... all come together well to not just tell the story, but express the emotions within the story. Fans of sports biopics, or tennis, or period pieces from the time period should definitely check out this film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% (CERTIFIED)
Metacritic: 63
One Movie Punch: 9.4/10
“Borg vs. McEnroe” (2017) is rated R and is currently streaming on Hulu.