Borg vs. McEnroe

More of a soft passing shot than a forehand winner, Borg vs. McEnroe should score with tennis aficionados who remember one of the great rivalries in the sport’s history.

While it’s mostly content to scratch the surface, this period piece effectively shows how two Hall of Fame players changed the game both on and off the court.

The film is centered on the epic clash between Swedish champion Bjorn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and American rising star John McEnroe (Shia LeBeouf) in the 1980 men’s singles championship at Wimbledon — which in retrospect served almost as a passing of the torch.

During the buildup to that clash, however, it volleys back and forth between the back stories of both players. McEnroe became known for his brash external volatility that defied traditional tennis etiquette. Yet that often concealed a more analytical and introspective side that included a fierce determination to dethrone Borg, a four-time defending Wimbledon champion.

The film is particularly intriguing during its extended glimpse into Borg’s working-class upbringing — Borg’s real-life son, Leo, plays him as a youngster — when he was forced to internalize his nasty temperament at the suggestion of his eventual coach and mentor (Stellan Skarsgard). By the time he faced McEnroe, he was engaged to a Romanian women’s player (Tuva Novotny) but generally shunned the spotlight.

The feature debut of Danish director Janus Metz keeps depictions of the on-court action to a minimum prior to the choppy re-creation of the pivotal 1980 title tilt. In fact, the film is probably best for fans who already will know some of the historical context and result of the climactic match.

Likewise, most tennis fans already will know how the two players are polar opposites, which the film exemplifies alongside their on-court rivalry. The bilingual screenplay provides some insight into their private lives and how they dealt with the celebrity culture at the time, revealing how they channeled their insecurities differently.

In the end, the even-handed film concludes that Borg and McEnroe were each misunderstood to an extent, and their rivalry was fueled by mutual admiration as much as anything. That character-driven approach provides a welcome supplement to the inherent drama in its true-life backdrop.

Rated R, 107 minutes.