A REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTARY ON SERENA WILLIAMS BY RANDY CULLEN

Written by: Staff on 19th June 2016

A REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTARY ON SERENA WILLIAMS BY RANDY CULLEN

epa05229933 Serena Williams of the USA in action against Christina Mchale of the USA during their match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 24 March 2016. EPA/RHONA WISE |

Full disclosure before my review of Epix’s documentary “Serena” – I’m not a Serena fan. And this movie did nothing to change my opinion of that (nor did it make it any worse). The movie promises us a look at “the other side of greatness” but I found it to be very indicative of the woman it profiles –keeping you at arms length and never truly letting you in. Sure it gives us the appearance it is…. Serena let’s us see glimpses of her unglamorous side – like in bed wearing a hair cap, or on the massage table. We also see Serena occasionally being silly, like when she’s karaoking with friends – with Drake present. But I never really got to know the woman any better. I felt she let us in the most after her win against sister Venus in their 2015 Wimbledon match. She shared that after beating her sister the tournament now actually begins for her because she feels a greater sense of responsibility to her family to now win. And it’s worth noting that it’s actually through her family and inner-circle that most of the portrait of Serena is painted.

And while I’m not a Serena fan – I am a big tennis fan and this is where the film delivers. I love getting any glimpse of behind the scenes action and definitely felt like the film delivered here. The movie follows Serena’s quest for the calendar Grand Slam last season and is was fascinating seeing what was going on behind the scenes during the pursuit of the sport’s toughest milestone. You felt the tension in Paris amongst her entire team as the struggled to boost Serena to the championship despite her battling illness and perhaps the pressure of the moment. You saw Serena and Venus hanging out at their Wimbledon house on the eve of their match just like it was any other family night. And you get to eavesdrop on coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s pre-match talk with Serena before all her matches at the US Open. Fun fact –he always ends with “I love you and I trust you.”

Overall I enjoyed the film. Did it deliver in showing me another side – or a deeper side – to the woman it documents? Not really. But as a tennis nerd it was an entertaining inside look and that’s always going to be an ace for me.

“Serena” premieres this Wednesday at 8pm on Epix.

Serena Williams of the USA in action against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their women’s single round of 16 match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 01 June 2016. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

Serena Williams of the USA in action against Teliana Pereira of Brazil during their women’s single second round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 26 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Topics: Serena Williams, Tennis