Borg vs McEnroe
Shia LaBeouf's standout performance brings a much needed jolt to Janus Metz Pedersen's Borg vs McEnroe, which otherwise plays a safe game and goes out in the quarter finals
The title of Janus Metz Pedersen’s Borg vs McEnroe is wrong. Or, rather, the “vs” is in the wrong place. It should be after the surnames, not between them. While the putative focus of Borg vs McEnroe is the 1980 Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final – the apotheosis of the Björn Borg-John McEnroe rivalry – the film is much more interested in Borg McEnroe versus. Versus their IceBorg-Superbrat personas, the press, their personal demons. These conflicts consume the men.
In the opening scene, an impassive Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason), the then four-time Wimbledon Men’s Singles champion, stands on a balcony and stares down at a tranquil swimming pool below. Just as we start to worry about heavy-handed metaphors, he balances precariously on the balcony ledge with just his hands until it becomes clear he hates them a lot more than we do. He’s a man chafing at his image, resenting it for being something he’s not anymore, or never was in the first place.
Shia LaBeouf doesn’t get the same level of introspective moments, but he still manages to make his mark. His John McEnroe is a kid with a point to prove in a world he’s utterly convinced is designed to blunt him. He rages against everyone for perceived injustices: at the British press, vapid chat show hosts, umpires, parents. While LaBeouf’s personal history risks making the casting feel too on the nose, he brings a vulnerable fury to the character that never feels gratuitous.
The film perhaps tries too hard to make basic points like the two men being more alike than their public personas suggest, and the actual tennis scenes leave a lot to be desired. However, when it focuses on the conflict within, as opposed to between, the men, Borg vs McEnroe serves an ace.
Released by Artificial Eye