Love Game
Ever seen a movie which was totally predictable but
still loved it cos everything in the movie happened
the way you wanted it to happen ?
’Wimbledon’ is one of those movies that you enjoy and leave
with a smile on the face.
Like in ’Lagaan’, you know that the villagers will defeat
the Brits, so do in this movie you realise that Peter Colt
will ultimately win Wimbledon but still getting to that point
of being proved that you knew all along what was going to
happen is in itself the entire pleasure of watching the movie.
So we are presented with Peter Colt (Paul Bettany), a player who was once
ranked 11th in the world but is now 119th and playing in his last
tournament which also happens to be Wimbledon.
Peter then meets rising star Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst)
who is playing her first Wimbledon. They immediately hit it off,
in more ways than one, angering Lizzies father (Sam Neill) but also
improving Peter’s game in which he goes from defeating an Indian
youngster Ajay Bhatt in the first round to beating a top seed player
and progressing to the finals.
In between the couple pursue their relationship chased by the paparazzi.
We are introduced to Peter’s family which consist of his feuding parents
(the father chooses to move to the treehouse) and his brother who
shamelessly bets against Peter all throuhg the tournament.
We get a inside look into lesser seen parts of Wimbledon and also
into the single most important wish of all British tennis fans, that
a Brit win Wimbledon.
The happenings are made as believable as possible what with John Mcenroe
and Chris Evert playing themselves as television commentators. Even the final
is interrupted by a rain shower in typical Wimbledon fashion.
The movie is mostly narrated in Peter’s mind which gives us an insight into the
mind of a fading tennis star
What makes the film work is the chemistry between Bettany and Dunst.
But the film comes alive during the tennis sequences which are
shot excellently.
Watch this with your spouse/date and cheer for Peter Colt.