Goolagong review: thoughtful series avoids sports biopic clichés

Goolagong: dodges the clichés

What do Australians want from a sports biopic? Goolagong, which traces the life of Australian tennis champion Evonne Goolagong (Eloise Hartas a child, Lila McGuire as an adult), at times seems determined to dodge the cliches of a determinedly crowd-pleasing genre. There’s still hard-won moments of sporting triumph and a nuanced portrait of a legend who had to do it tough, but the tone is more thoughtful, the series as much about who Goolagong is as what she achieved.

The jaunty music backing the opening scene at Wimbledon sets the mood: she might be a little anxious, but everything around her tells her she’s earned this. And when the story jumps back to her 1950s childhood in Barellan, New South Wales, it’s still letting us know that whatever the hardships – they’re the first indigenous family in Barellan, riding into town with the kids on the back of a ute – it’s not all struggle and strife. “It’s gonna be a great day,” says mum Linda (Chenoa Deemal), and she’s not wrong, even if Evonne hones her tennis skills by hitting an old ball with a plank against the veranda in their dirt front yard.

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Goolagong: a nuanced series

Familiar elements constantly crop up in fresh ways. Upon arrival in town, dad Kenny (Luke Carroll) shows up at the pub then pauses, unsure of himself. A kid walks by and tells him that “my dad said you people have to go out the back”, but as Kenny turns to leave in defeat, a (white) mate who helped him move shows up at the door and invites him in. From her frown it’s clear the watching Goolagong still learns a lesson, but it’s not the one a less nuanced biopic would serve up.

Fortunately for genre fans, we soon get a more traditional figure in sporting stories: the coach who takes more than he gives. In this case it’s Vic Edwards (Marton Csokas) a much-respected figure who spots Goolagong’s talent when he’s asked out to the regional courts to watch the now-teenager play. Her father’s love and support can only take her so far, and with talent to burn it’s time to take things to the next level – even if that means leaving her family to move to Sydney to stay with Edwards at his home.

Edwards hones her talents, and she rapidly becomes one to watch. He also controls every aspect of her life – personal and professional – in a way that’s stifling off the court and eventually damaging to her progress on it. Again, it’s a surprisingly nuanced look at what could easily have been a stock character. He eventually becomes the clear bad guy of the story, and many of his acts are dubious to say the least, but he rarely slides into cartoon villainy – his motives, while twisted, remain plausible.

Kenny is the father who provides unconditional love; Edwards is the taskmaster who drives her to be her best. Somewhere in the middle is fellow tennis player Roger Cawley (Felix Mallard), who Goolagong meets in the UK and who becomes the love of her life (they’ve been married since 1975). It’s a relationship that doesn’t go down well with Edwards, though by this stage Goolagong has other worries on her plate.

The picture that emerges here is of a proud Indigenous woman quietly determined to do what it takes to achieve her goals. There’s a few big moments that could be read in a variety of ways; she refuses to join a push for equal pay for women then loses a ‘grudge’ match against push leader Billie Jean King, she tours South Africa during Apartheid, and the end of her dealings with Edwards feels more like simply wanting him out of her life than any kind of victory.

But Goolagong’s refusal to go the simple route extends to its central character, who is never reduced to any one thing. That’s especially clear in the final stretch, where she battles to keep her career alive while dealing with the stresses of motherhood and a failing body.

Goolagong: a powerhouse performance

Hartas’ performance is a powerhouse one, effortlessly capturing every aspect she’s asked to play. The result is a central character who’s driven and determined but not ruthless, constantly open to new experiences (it’s a long way from a rural driveway to Wimbledon) without coming off as naïve, possessing a soft side that doesn’t get in the way of some hard decisions.

As for the tennis itself, the matches are relatively sedate in terms of physical activity, always more about how they affect her than a chance to ramp up the action. Those expecting high energy thrills may come away a little disappointed, though that’s on them; Goolagong is about the winner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, one of Australia’s greatest sporting stars, but everything that makes it special takes place off the court.

Episode two of Goolagong airs Sunday 11 January on ABC TV, with all three episodes now available on iView

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