Review of Wimbledon

Introduction

This is a pleasingly lightweight romantic comedy from Working Title. Paul Bettany (Chaucer from A Knight`s Tale) stars as fading tennis star Peter. Kirsten Dunst (do I really have to do a reference-credit?) is upcoming tennis star Lizzie Bradbury. Against the backdrop of the Wimbledon championships they fall in love and he has a shot at the big-time again.

The lead role was, as every lead role in a British romantic comedy is, written for Hugh Grant. Paul Bettany makes a much more sympathetic (and believable) romantic lead in this, not least working opposite Kirsten Dunst who is her usual perky self. Beautifully shot in Panavision by Darius Khondji, the movie goes through the predictable motions to its logical romantic comedy conclusion. Nothing wrong in that, and in being a good, old-fashioned romantic comedy without any post-modern barbs it succeeds magnificently.

The leads are admirably supported by a cast including Sam Neill, Eleanor Bron (wonderful to see her again) and Bernard Hill who the last time I saw had just been run over by the Witch King of Angmar.

Which brings us to the question of balls. Hitting them rather than talking them. The movie is frequently shot using techniques from commercials (including the fast-becoming-a-cliche bullet time). Every tennis shot is executed faultlessly even if the character is missing the ball, and the secret to such fantastic ball control is of course CGI. All balls are in the digital realm, and quite frankly you can`t see the join even if you accept the frequently bordering-on-the-impossible shots director Richard Loncraine asked his crew to achieve.

Video

The image, in faultless anamorphic 2.35:1, is just how a brand-new movie should look on DVD - sharp, colourful, lacking in edge enhancement and generally perfect.

Audio

The soundtrack, which features a number of pop tracks as well as a score by Edward Shearmur, is in nicely immersive Dolby Digital 5.1. The UK edition only features an English soundtrack which makes a refreshing change as multiple language soundtracks eat away at the bitrate available for the movie.

Features

The film comes with a full-length audio commentary featuring a double act of director Richard Loncraine and Paul Bettany. There is also a short (3 min) puff piece called Welcome To The Club, a (4 min 45 sec) piece on the filming techniques called "Ball Control", another very short piece about coaching the stars featuring Pat Cash, and a near ten minute piece called Wimbledon: A Look Inside. Trailers for Bridget Jones 2, The Terminal, Billy Elliott The Musical and Vanity Fair round off the package.

Conclusion

This does exactly what it says on the tin - delivers a nice, silly romantic comedy of the variety we Brits seem to be getting good at. And all without the input of Richard Curtis or Hugh Grant. Well, that`s two things going for it already. Set against the tennis championships at Wimbledon, what`s going to happen by the last reel is pretty obvious and the picture doesn`t disappoint for a single second.