SummaryJohn McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection revisits the rich bounty of 16-mm-shot footage of the left-handed tennis star John McEnroe, at the time the world’s top-ranked player, as he competes in the French Open at Paris’s Roland Garros Stadium in 1984. Close-ups and slow motion sequences of McEnroe competing, as well as instances of his notorious ... Read More
Directed By:Julien Faraut
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
User score
Generally Favorable
6.1
My Score
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
94% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Aug 21, 2018
100
Mr. Faraut’s impressionistic conflation of humor, wonder, horror and sympathy whisks this movie to the deluxe suite of the pleasure palace.
Aug 27, 2018
90
What lingers, when this movie is done, are not the regular rallies, during which we survey the whole court, but those moments when we focus on McEnroe alone — on the dancing shuffle of his feet as he bobs and races for a return. Swap the sneakers for tap shoes and the dusty clay for a mirrored floor, and we could be watching Fred without Ginger, lost in the delirium of his art.
Mar 27, 2018
90
Director Julien Faraut, who oversees the French Sport Institute’s 16mm film collection, showcases masterful command of the documentary form. His insightful, entertaining and often humorous film will appeal to fans of McEnroe, tennis and sport in general.
May 23, 2019
80
With its thickly-accented voiceovers, re-recorded into English by Mathieu Amalric, the film is a pleasingly eccentric watch, and one full of rare insights.
Sep 5, 2018
78
It is at times a beguiling and compelling piece of cinema, but it’s not without its frustrations.
Aug 29, 2018
75
An invaluable piece of sports history, with 16mm images by de Kermadec that are succulently detailed.
Aug 17, 2018
50
The documentary's labored juxtapositions create fission, the feel of a director scrambling to dictate the game.
User score
Generally Favorable
43% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
43% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
14% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
May 30, 2019
6
Given the material, I was really looking forward to watching this film. However, the ultimate effect was more mixed than I expected. I found it's attempts to link cinema and sport rather laboured and instead of allowing me to make my own connections, it had a terrible habit of telling me what to think. By the time it had gotten round to covering the effect of the cameras on the player (admittedly more interesting) and then onto a particular game, I had pretty much lost interest. One minute I'm being told the films contains the feeling of McEnroe in his immediacy, but the filmmaker's method means I'm always stepping back from the material. It's then much less involving than say 'Amy' (about Amy Winehouse) where the visual material and audio recordings do the heavy lifting. For me, that is cinema, not a heavy-handed film essay about film about a tennisplayer. The aforementioned immediacy is clobbered out of existence. Disappointing.
Production Company:
- UFO Production
- Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC)
- La Région Île-de-France
- CNAP
Release Date:Aug 22, 2018
Duration:1 h 35 m
Tagline:Cinema lies. Sport does not.
Website:
Awards
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Lisbon Film Festival (LEFFEST)
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
BFI London Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
