[Tribeca Review] Renée
Published on April 22, 2011 by Kristy Puchko
http://thefilmstage.com/2011/04/22/tribeca-review-renee/ESPN Films presents a documentary detailing the story of Dr. Renée Richards (formerly Dr. Richard Raskind) a trailblazing transsexual who took the tennis world by storm in 1977, when she tried to enter the US Open as a woman. It's an ambitious effort that aims to tell an inspiring tale, but ultimately falls flat.
At the film's start, director Eric Drath introduces the story of Dr. Richards' transformation by admitting his own curiosity about her story, which made headlines during his formative years As an adult, he wondered what had become of the eye doctor who made tongues 'round the world wag when she'd won a woman's tennis tournament in La Jolla, California. No further background is given on the documentarian whose insipid commentary ultimately bookends the film, creating an oddly disjointed narrative. After his terse introduction, he fades into the background until his voiceover interjects in the film's final moments to create a forced sense of closure to the proceedings. It's one of many amateur moves in this doc about a noteworthy tennis pro.
