Wimbledon Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)September 18th, 2004
WIMBLEDON
Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Universal Pictures
Grade: C+
Directed by: Richard Loncraine
Written by: Adam Brooks, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, Screened at: Loews 84th St., NYC, 9/14/04
At one point in the movie "Wimbledon," Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst) says, "Love means nothing in tennis." This is both axiomatic and debatable, in the first instance since "love" means "zero points" on the court, and in the latter, whether love or, as Lizzie puts it "fooling around" improves or takes away from one's game. Lizzie's protective dad, Dennis Bradbury (Sam Neill) thinks that boyfriends destroy his precious daughter's focus while his gorgeous daughter, needless to say, takes the opposite approach.
"Wimbledon" is a production with mostly British actors (and at least one New Zealander) filmed at Monte Carlo, Brighton, London and at Wimbledon itself. Director Richard Loncraine ("Richard III") balances the action on the court with games in and around hotel rooms, making the picture a crowd pleaser for those who root for seeded player Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) to win and a feel-good romantic story for all who want the formerly frivolous Lizzie to match up permanently with Peter.
Darius Khondji does a splendid job photographing the activities in and around the All England Lawn Tennis and Crocquet Club at Wimbledon, and visual effects supervisor Richard Stammers does wonders with computer generation to have us believe Ms. Dunst and Mr. Bettany are actually champions at the net. Ultimately "Wimbledon" is a lightweight, derivative sports-cum-romance story with the aristocratic sport of tennis substituting for baseball, basketball and football antics that annually cover our screens.
Lizzie and Peter meet cute in a London hotel room, she, drying herself off in the shower while he appears to have the key to the wrong room. The chemistry between them is palpable from that moment, with Lizzie the far more confident seductress to Peter's bumbling and wavering. Peter is thirty- one years old, now ranked 119 (down from 11 years back) and is about to retire from the game. He has little confidence that he can make even the semifinals at Wimbledon–the English, apparently, have not made good all that often. But with the confidence given him by a good woman who proves that "fooling around" can really make one a champ on the court as well as off, the trajectory is predictable.
Sam Neill does a fairly unconvincing role as a father out to protect her daughter's game, while comic relief comes from Jon Favreau, who is an agent for both sides and can profit from endorsements sought from either, with James McAvoy in the role of a guy who bets against his own brother. While the characterizations are by the numbers, the volleys on the court using digital placements are breathtaking. A big plus is the exploration of psychology as a factor in a player's game, as director Loncraine, perhaps from being at the helm of "Richard III," effectively uses soliloquy to clue us in the audience into what goes on in Peter's mind as he serves and while he waits for the service of his opponent.
Rated PG-13. 98 minutes. © 2004 by Harvey Karten
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