Written and directed by Stuart McClave, retracing the meteoric journey of Richard Williams, the father and coach of Venus and Serena Williams. One man’s fight against racism, suppression, and violence and an emotional reckoning on race in America, family, courage, and determination.
When diving into the story of the Williams family, it’s often that projects focus more on either Richard or Serena and Venus, but On the Line: The Richard Williams Story is a great example of exploring the family as a whole. Front and centre is the discussion of racism in tennis, as well as within American society in general. The film takes you on a look back at the way the tennis community and the general public reacted to the growing success of the Williams family, it would be extremely hard to deny that it was racially motivated. With the exception of those in outright denial about the presence of deep seated racism throughout the US, several examples of which are seen in the film. It’s at it strongest when recounting the incident at Indian Wells in 2001, a moment which is genuinely shocking how awful the Williams family was treated.
This story is one that never tires because it’s a source of constant inspiration for anyone, what this family achieved would be practically unbelievable if you didn’t know it was true. It’s great to take another look at how they reached that success, and a huge part of that is the unfaltering tenacity of Richard Williams. The reaction to his confidence and assuredness, when perceived through a lens of prejudice, was hugely negative but it’s simple to see that he was a man on a mission to protect and nurture his children on their road to making history. In that sense, it also keenly shows the power of having a relentless force like Richard Williams in your corner growing up.
It’s easy to talk about how captivating their story is but as for the Stuart McClave’s directorial style and the footage used, it’s a great mix of past and present. Especially in how they’re edited together to give a well rounded perspective, and there’s some great talking heads involved including Billie Jean King and Rick Macci, on top of Richard Williams himself. It’s got fantastic pacing, there’s a lot of story to get through and it picks and chooses its moments well. There’s also a superb energy and personality to the film, there’s a serious nature to the topics but the film never becomes too heavy, it holds onto the tone and persona of Richard Williams.
On the Line: The Richard Williams Story takes a fresh look at the iconic story of the Williams family, it’s one we all know and love but Stuart McClave manages to make it feel new again. The mix of hearing directly from Richard Williams and archive footage works really well to open up the discussion of racism, prejudice and family. It’s wonderful to see how fiercely Richard protected Serena and Venus, and how that prepared them emotionally for what success would throw at them. It’s well curated, it’s a captivating story and it truly never gets old.
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