Borg vs McEnroe

Borg vs McEnroe (Swedish: Borg, Finnish: Borg/McEnroe), also known as Borg McEnroe,[5] is a 2017 biographical sports drama film focusing on the famous professional rivalry between tennis players Björn Borg and John McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships, culminating in their encounter in the men's singles final, one of the most dramatic tennis matches of all time.[6] The film, a production between Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, is directed by Janus Metz Pedersen, from a screenplay written by Ronnie Sandahl, and stars Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny, and Robert Emms. The film opened the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.[7]

This article is about the 2017 film. For the rivalry between two players, see Borg–McEnroe rivalry.
Borg vs McEnroe
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJanus Metz Pedersen
Produced by
Written byRonnie Sandahl
Starring
Music by
CinematographyNiels Thastum
Production
company
Distributed byNordisk Film
Release date
  • 7 September 2017 (2017-09-07) (TIFF)
  • 8 September 2017 (2017-09-08) (Sweden)
  • 14 September 2017 (2017-09-14) (Denmark)
  • 13 October 2017 (2017-10-13) (Finland)
Running time
108 minutes[1]
Country
  • Sweden
  • Denmark
  • Finland[2]
LanguageEnglish
Swedish
Budget65 million SEK[3]
($7.5 million)[4]
Box office$3.3 million[4]

Synopsis

Disciplined tennis champion Björn Borg prepares for a competition against abrasive American John McEnroe.

Cast
Sverrir Gudnason plays Björn Borg.
Shia LaBeouf plays John McEnroe.
  • Sverrir Gudnason as Björn Borg:
    A Swedish former world no. 1 tennis player.[6][8][9] Screenwriter Ronnie Sandahl stated in interviews with Swedish newspapers Expressen and Sydsvenskan that Sverrir "looks very much like the Swedish tennis star".[10][11] In an interview, Gudnason talked about his preparation for the part, and stated that he "spent six months in which he trained 15 hours a week, with two hours of tennis and four workouts with a personal trainer."[12] He also revealed that he had not met Borg, stating "not yet, but I will meet him, sometime after the shooting of the film."[12] Leo Borg, the real-life son of Björn Borg, portrays his father from age 9 to 13, while actor Markus Mossberg portrays him from age 14 to 17.[13]
  • Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe:
    An American former world no. 1 professional tennis player and Borg's rival.[6][8][9][14] Sandahl stated in an interview that it was LaBeouf that made contact with the production when he heard about the script, because he "identifies strongly with the character of McEnroe, and felt that he is a misunderstood person."[11] In an interview with Variety, Shia praised the script and called it "brilliant", and said that he "cried when reading it for the first time."[8] He also revealed that he has not met with McEnroe about the role, stating "haven't met him yet, but I'm eager to meet him before we shoot. I got nothing but love and respect for him."[8]
  • Stellan Skarsgård as Lennart Bergelin:
    A retired Swedish tennis player and Borg's coach.[6][8][15] This is his first role in a Swedish film since he starred in the films Arn – The Knight Templar and Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End.[16] Skarsgård described and compared the relationship between Bergelin and Borg to the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri in the 1984 film Amadeus: "people think that Salieri was jealous of Mozart, but I do not think that's the right word. I think it's more an utter fascination and love of the genius. And the self-doubt that you are not capable."[17][3]
  • Tuva Novotny as Mariana Simionescu: A Romanian tennis player and Borg's fiancée.[6]
  • Robert Emms as Vitas Gerulaitis: An American professional tennis player with a playboy lifestyle.[6][18]
  • Jason Forbes as Arthur Ashe
  • Björn Granath as Bengt Grive
  • Scott Arthur as Peter Fleming
  • Tom Datnow as Jimmy Connors
  • Jane Perry as Kay McEnroe, John's mother
  • Thomas Hedengran as Lennart Hyland

Production

Development

In May 2016, a film about tennis rivals Björn Borg and John McEnroe was in development.[19] Janus Metz Pedersen was chosen to direct the film, from a screenplay written by Swedish writer Ronnie Sandahl.[6][8][19] He is mostly known for directing the 2010 documentary film Armadillo and one episode of the HBO drama True Detective.[6] The film was produced by Jon Nohrstedt, who produced the Swedish animated film Bamse and the Thief City, and Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, who is most known for producing the 2010 film Easy Money.[6][19] The film is distributed by Nordisk Film in Scandinavia and internationally by SF Studios.[6]

Casting

In May 2016, Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf were cast as Björn Borg and John McEnroe, respectively.[9] In an interview with Variety at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, LaBeouf was excited about the script and working with Scandinavian directors, stating, "They make better movies. Scandinavian film making is different. It's a different pace, a different relationship between the crew—the bonds are different".[8] Stellan Skarsgård had been cast as Borg's coach Lennart Bergelin, which is his first role in a Swedish film in several years.[6][8][15][16] Tuva Novotny and Robert Emms had joined the cast as Mariana Simionescu and Vitas Gerulaitis, respectively.[6][18]

Filming

The filming began in August 2016, and took place in Gothenburg, Prague, London, and Monaco.[6] Filming also took place in Borg's hometown of Södertälje, where he grew up, and started playing tennis as a child.[12] The production has recreated the Studio 54 nightclub at a studio in Gothenburg.[17] The tennis arena Štvanice in Prague, stands in for the Centre Court arena in Wimbledon, London, where they shot the finals of the 1980 Wimbledon Championships.[10] Gudnason described that he felt "a huge sense of authenticity, when I [he] and Shia walked from the changing room to what [was] supposed to look like the Centre Court arena, before hundreds of extras".[10][3]

In October, the first set photos of Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf as Björn Borg and John McEnroe, respectively, were released.[20][21]

Release

Borg vs McEnroe opened the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, concurrent with its Swedish theatrical release. It was released in the UK on September 22, and was released in the U.S. 13 April 2018.[6]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84%, based on 143 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 30 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]

Peter Debruge of Variety magazine praised director Janus Metz: "When the big tennis finale arrives, Metz finds all sorts of ways to make the match interesting, blending urgent music, creative camera vantages and ridiculously hyperbolic announcer commentary to generate the desired tension. But the real reason we’re invested is far simpler than that: Metz and his cast have made us care about both Borg and McEnroe by this point."[5]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it "An acting-forward sports film capable of engaging viewers who don't know their 30-loves from their birdies or hat tricks."[24]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Ref.
Camerimage International Film Festival 11–18 November 2017 Best Directorial Debut Janus Metz Pedersen Won [25]
Guldbagge Awards 22 January 2018 Best Film Jon Nohrstedt and Fredrik Wikström Nicastro (Producers) Nominated [26][27]
Best Director Janus Metz Pedersen Nominated
Best Actor Sverrir Gudnason Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Shia LaBeouf Nominated
Stellan Skarsgård Won
Best Editing Per Sandholt and Per K Kirkegaard Nominated
Best Costume Design Kicki Ilander Nominated
Best Original Score Jonas Struck, Jon Ekstrand and Vladislav Delay Nominated
Best Art Direction Lina Nordqvist Nominated
Best Visual Effects Torbjörn Olsson and Alex Hansson Won
Noordelijk Film Festival 12 November 2017 Public Prize Borg McEnroe Won [28]

See also

References
  1. "BORG VS MCENROE". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. "Borg/McEnroe". Films (in Finnish). Finnish Film Foundation. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  3. Wennö, Nicholas (22 September 2016). ""Borg" väcker nytt liv i tidernas tennisdrama". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  4. "Borg vs McEnroe (2017)". The Numbers (website). Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. Debruge, Peter (7 September 2017). "Film Review: Shia LaBeouf in 'Borg Vs. McEnroe'". Variety. Penske Business Media.
  6. Rosser, Michael (16 August 2016). "Shia LaBeouf-starrer 'Borg/McEnroe' begins shoot". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  7. Vlessing, Etan (31 July 2017). "Toronto: Shia LaBeouf's 'Borg McEnroe' to Open 2017 Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  8. Keslassy, Elsa (26 May 2016). "Shia LaBeouf on His Next Big Acting Challenge: Playing John McEnroe". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  9. Sundeby, Maria Askerfjord (11 May 2016). "Sverrir Gudnason iklär sig rollen som Björn Borg". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  10. Sandberg, David (29 September 2016). ""Otroligt lycklig slump att Sverrir är så lik"". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  11. Oscarsson, Mattias (15 May 2016). "Ronnie Sandahl: Borg och McEnroe känner till projektet". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  12. Söderström, Aron (6 October 2016). "Så har Gudnason förberett sig för Borg-rollen". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  13. Nykänen, Joni (10 October 2016). "Leo spelar sin far i filmen om Björn Borg". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  14. Shoard, Catherine (22 September 2016). "John McEnroe slams biopic starring Shia LaBeouf". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  15. Andersson, Jan-Olov (5 October 2016). "Hollywood-stjärnan Shia LaBeouf hyllar Stellan Skarsgård". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  16. Lindqvist, Johan (4 October 2016). ""Björn Borg" är i Göteborg". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  17. Engström, Emma (8 October 2016). "Internationellt intresse för filmen om Borg och McEnroe" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  18. TT (4 October 2016). "Robert Emms klar för Borg-film". Folkbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  19. Stiskalo, Sandra (4 May 2016). "Björn Borgs liv blir film". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  20. Blom, Bea (4 October 2016). "Här blir skådespelarna Borg och McEnroe". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  21. Keene, Allison (5 October 2016). "First 'Borg/McEnroe' Image Reveals Shia LeBeouf as Tennis Legend John McEnroe". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  22. "Borg vs. McEnroe (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  23. "Borg vs. McEnroe Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  24. "'Borg/McEnroe': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. "Camerimage 2017 Winners!". Camerimage International FIlm Festival. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  26. Haimi, Rebecca (4 January 2018). "Flest nomineringar till Borg – Östlund: "Det känns okej"". SVT Kultur (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  27. Pettersson, Leo (22 January 2018). "Glädjetårar efter Sameblods succé". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  28. Talsma, Jantina (12 November 2017). "Borg/McEnroe Wint Publieksprijs #NFF38" (in Dutch). Noordelijk Film Festival. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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