BORG vs McENROE . This is a highly anticipated film. Not least because it has bad boy all over it. Who hasn’t said “comeonnnn” when frustrated? But what we get is a thoughtful film, low on theatrics and high on character.
The title sequence sets the scene. Looking from above, as we never could in 1980, the court grass, blockily delineated by quicklime lines, is worn and abused from green to brown. The arena is drawn as the voiceover exhorts us to settle down: “Quiet please” repeated. The court announcer tells us what we already know, it is the Wimbledon Men’s final. Ostensibly this will be crafty ice wolf #1 Björn Borg seeking his 5th title over the instinctive street canine #2 John McEnroe, hungry for his first Wimbledon. “The baseline player vs the net rusher”.
What follows is a gripping 5 setter of a film. Borg is introduced as a boy, an out of place aggressive in a ‘gentleman’s sport’ who becomes a precipice tempted star. It is his story initially, gently evoked and an insight into the man who is treated as a rock star and pursued by screaming girls in a Monaco street. We see McEnroe’s backstory next as he is impassive when confronted with his bad behaviour in past matches until an interview brings out the passion. In close-up and in individual histories both men appear introspective and volcanic with emotion.
And therein lies the strength of this film. These men are champions and as the film progresses away from the headlines into the real events it is clear that they are more similar than we would expect. No-one becomes champion without craft and instinct and no champion escapes the burden of fame. Director Janus Metz sees Borg and McEnroe “ultimately playing against themselves and their own demons.”
This match, the 1980 Wimbledon Final is legend for length and stamina and takes up the last 25 minutes of the film but we also see enough of the lead up matches and the men’s lifestyle around the event. Each player watches the other play and the crowd and media bring different pressures to bear. The Connors/McEnroe game really sets the stage.
We also see glimpses of their childhood (including Borg’s real-life son, Leo Borg , playing his father, 9-13 years). Each of these scenes gives an insight into how the men will approach the finals. When we arrive sat the main game the focus is purely on the tennis.
Sverrir Gudnason, uncannily like him, plays Borg with deliberation. The doubt-plagued, superstitious, pattern repeater before he steps on a court is well contrasted with the public’s perception of him as a clinical and flexible player. His Borg is a broody, focused Scandinavian.
Shia LaBeouf is his match and LeBeouf’s moments which are not reproduced footage are especially moving. The way he speaks to his mother, and his locker room confrontation with Peter Fleming (played by Australian Scott Arthur) after the quarter finals. LaBeouf brings vulnerability to arrogance and defensiveness to drive.
The film is, as the title makes clear, about Borg and McEnroe, and there only two other main characters. As Borg’s manager Lennart Bergelin veteran Stellan Skarsgård brings the required gravitas to the difficult role and manages to bring truth and power to his very simplistic exhortative dialogue. Tough love notwithstanding.
Bergelin, from long experience knew how to handle Borg which is more than his fiancé Tuva Novotny (Mariana Simionescu) seems capable of. She appears at a loss as to how to make Borg more in her life, in their life. Simionescu has a stoicism in the part without being cold or dispassionate and we can empathise with her eggshell approach to being around the volatility of this moment in time.
The somewhat muted palette, not far removed from old colour footage, helps place the film in its time. But this is a film focused on faces. Studio 54 might be alluded to and there is long hair in the crowd and, of course, there are sweatbands but it is not a period piece. The pre-match hour or so of the film is surprisingly intimate.
The meticulously accurate match has all the big wide shots one would expect. There are cuts and throws to the crowd and supporters and scoreboards and there is slow motion and truncating of time. But the tension is built through the characters and their responses and the voice over which keeps the narrative running. The impelling strings of the soundtrack exert their influence too.
Overall BORG vs McENROE is not a sensationalist ripped from the headlines drama but a satisfying peek into the personal as athletic side of a truly great tennis match and well worth staying in the cinema for the real-life images of the end credits.