For many tennis aficionados, the 1980 Wimbledon final between Björn Borg and John McEnroe was the greatest match of all-time. It is, in my humble opinion, but that is where the film Borg vs. McEnroe only begins its overhand smash of success.
As the pair embarked on the path to their destined meeting in the Wimbledon finals, each brought their own triumphs, emotional baggage and professional pitfalls to the journey. Borg vs. McEnroe impeccably captures not only the thrill-fest that was that dawn of the decade of decadence London-based match, but also everything that put these two tennis titans on their sport’s biggest stage.
Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason portrays his countryman, Borg, and does so in a manner that simultaneously captures the supremely challenging price of fame and the pressure that comes with being the number one male tennis player in the world seeking his fifth straight Wimbledon title. That is something that no other player in history has accomplished. If it seems like iron-faced Borg knows nothing but winning, think again. As chronicled in this stunning achievement of a film, it seems that in his early days, he possessed the same emotionally charged playing style as McEnroe. With a coach, Lennart Bergelin (Stellan Skarsgård) that saw something in his at an early age, that rage was channeled into a Mac truck baseline game that few ever had an answer for on the court.
Shia LaBeouf was born to be McEnroe. It is the performance of his career on many levels. The actor is given a palette to work with in the brash tennis star, who would eventually himself sit atop the game’s rankings, that is lusciously layered with emotional levels of dark and light. In the hands of LaBeouf, McEnroe is a multi-dimensional soul trying to be the best at something that few can attain… being the number one anything in the world.
Gudnason is a revelation as Borg. His command over his emotional spectrum as an actor is sublime. There are complicated sports heroes from over the decades, but few provide the landscape landmines that the Swedish actor had to overcome. First, he is portraying one of the most popular, yet little known in terms of his personal experience, sports figures of all time. Secondly, Gudnason must chronicle a life that requires its due diligence due to its significance to a beloved pastime. He succeeds on every level and do not be surprised if Hollywood comes calling for its next Swedish cinematic savior.
Borg vs. McEnroe is also the rare film that can fluctuate back and forth in its narrative, time-wise, and elevate the drama across the storytelling board. Over the course of director Janus Metz’s utter gem, the true tale shifts from modern day Wimbledon to the past of both men as their rocket ascension to sport’s upper echelon plays out in front of our electrified eyes. Even during the decisive moments of the mesmerizing match, Metz takes us back with a myriad of tonal images from their collective history that makes the conclusion deeply and personally moving.
The helmer also has a director of photography in Niels Thastum who captures Europe (and America in a lesser extent) of that era in a manner that is rich in texture, tone and visual exposition that transports the viewer to another time that firmly puts us in the world of Wimbledon of 1980 and the events that led up to this titanic tennis battle.
The Swedish majority-led production is also served, honestly, by coming to be outside the Hollywood machine. This would be an entirely different experience if it had emerged from the studio system, or dare we even say the smaller boutique production houses here in America. Because it is a European, specifically Swedish, it is a film that triumphantly celebrates one of their own, while still giving major props to an American who would eventually dominate the sport itself.
Borg vs. McEnroe is truly special on a multitude of levels. It feels more intimate, heartbeat-racing and charismatically compelling than many of the true-tale sports movies we’ve seen of late.
It serves nothing but aces.
Grade: A