The year was 1973, in the wake of the sexual revolution and the rise of the women’s movement. The upcoming film, The Battle of the Sexes, shows a snippet of that period. A moment not only in tennis history – the tennis match between women’s world champion Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-men’s-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs ( Steve Carell). The match between the two became one of the most watched televised sports event of all time, reaching around 90 million views around the world.
The film shows how the rivalry between Kind and Riggs kicked into high gear. Off court, each was fighting more personal and complex battles – King was a champion for equality but struggled to come to terms with her own sexuality, as her friendship with Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough) developed. While Riggs, being one of the first self-made media-age celebrities, was fighting his own demons, at the expense of his family and wife Priscilla (Elisabeth Shue).
Together, Billie and Bobby both served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis court, sparking discussion to this day.
The film will be showing at London’s BFI film festival on the 7th October, with highlights of the festival premiere showing across cinemas in the UK on 10th October.
Watch the trailer here…
–
BATTLE OF THE SEXES is in cinemas November 24.