Movie Trailer: https://youtu.be/IgfFdEOGUqE
“Borg vs McEnroe” is a movie that is about so much more than tennis. It takes place in London during the 1980’s before the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament. That year was especially important because Borg would have a chance to set a new record, by winning his 5th Wimbledon tournament of his career. There was only one person that stood in his way: McEnroe. Within the movie we analyze, and get into the depth of both players’ minds. The directors and writers purposely use many rhetorical lenses to illustrate how Borg and McEnroe are very much alike and experience similar emotions.
Borg holding the trophy to one of his wins at Wimbledon
In the beginning of the movie we are first introduced to the number one ranked tennis player, Bjorn Borg. When he is introduced to us, the directors play slow and peaceful music as we see him practicing in an almost harmonious, robotic way. The tone of the music demonstrates that Borg is a very calm and composed person. We also see a scene of him as a kid, dreaming of becoming a true tennis champion. After we are introduced to Borg, we are then shown McEnroe. In the first scene he is arguing with the judge by cursing and throwing a “tantrum.” We also hear the sound of chaotic rock music while this happens, giving us an impression that he is a “bad boy” and doesn’t play by the rules. After comparing McEnroe to Borg we understand that McEnroe is not a traditional and classy tennis player. Whether it is the way he plays, the way he talks, and even the way he dresses – we can tell he is different. With the use of tone and music we gain a wider sense for the divergence of our main characters.
As the movie progresses the audience starts to see how the life of a tennis player may not be as perfect as one thinks. The director puts the audience in Borg’s perspective to highlight his calm and humble demeanor. In a scene where Borg goes to get coffee he tries to hide from the crowds, going to a small coffee shop. At the coffee shop he says he is an electrician, rejecting his fame to avoid being recognized and staying humble. From this scene we are able to understand that Borg feels a lot of pressure coming into the tournament, and seems tired of being expected to win all the time. By showing us close shots of Borg and bringing us into his perspective, we can see how he truly feels.
McEnroe celebrates after winning a round in Wimbledon
Next, we get into the perspective of McEnroe when we see how stressed he is about Wimbledon, and the amount of effort he puts into each and every game. Once McEnroe got into his hotel room, he instantly started drawing brackets on the wall and chaotically tried to predict his potential matchups. We actively see how much of a toll this tournament has on him, where he constantly seems nervous about winning. This puts an unimaginable amount of pressure on McEnroe to try and play his best. By using multiple perspectives, the producers and writers help us gain extra insight on both Borg and McEnroe. Showing us that our main characters are not without flaws, but rather they may have many problems heading into Wimbledon.
Along with perspective, characterization is used to really help develop both Bjorn and McEnroe and show us who they truly are. We see this for both characters when we are taken into flashback scenes from their childhoods. For McEnroe, his childhood seemed to be very organized and strict. His parents would force him to do well in school and never expressed to him how proud they were. Even when he did well in class or in tennis they would say that he could’ve done better. On top of that McEnroe’s father would put pressure on him and test him on hard math problems in front of guests. This caused McEnroe to become embarrassed and would be punished for not being perfect. Additionally, when we saw McEnroe practice as a kid he was extremely focused, hitting the ball well and reminding us of a robot – just like Borg.
Now on the other hand we have Bjorn Borg. We are taken through flashbacks into his childhood, seeing him as a boy playing tennis against his opponent. After a very intense rally his ball is called out and he starts to yell at the referee. He goes on to break his racket as the judge takes action against him by taking away points and games. We then see his future coach listening to someone say that Borg is an “embarrassment to the club” and “not right in the head.” After this match Borg is clearly upset about losing but it gets worse as the club then puts him on a six week suspension because tennis is a “gentleman’s sport.” Similar to McEnroe, Borg’s father was also a bad role model and father. He yelled at Borg about being perfect, and threatened to never let him play tennis ever again. As Borg grows up he learns the hard way that when he becomes frustrated and shows emotion in games he loses. His coach eventually lets him play in his first pro tournament but tells Borg, “Promise to never show a single bloody emotion ever again.” From there we see how Borg turned out to be a robot, feeling no emotion during his games and playing near perfect.
The producers develop Borg and McEnroe’s characteristics within these specific childhood scenes to have the audience start to recognize a major part of the movie. As I watched these scenes I couldn’t help but notice how Borg as an adult acts how McEnroe was as a child, and how McEnroe acts now as Borg did when he was younger. It’s from here that the directors want us to start to understand how even though they seem so different, Borg and McEnroe really have much in common. After this point came the climax of the movie, the Wimbledon Finals.
Right before the finals start we see a shot of Borg sitting next to McEnroe on a bench, dressed in the same clothes, with this following quote behind their heads. “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.” This quote from Joseph Merz’s poem “Meet with Triumph and Disaster,” and the finals is how the authors established purpose in the movie. The quote reminds and teaches us that being focused on the outcome is a mistake. Both McEnroe and Borg have always been focused only on each game’s ending whether it’s a win or loss. Where in reality, in order to win you have to play to your full potential – no matter what. We see here how both McEnroe and Borg are really very similar and facing the same challenge. With this quote in the audience and the players minds, Borg and McEnroe walk onto the court, and the finals start.
Borg and McEnroe before walking out to play the in the finals (from movie).
The announcers and fans all cheer when Borg walks out hoping he will make history by winning his 5th Wimbledon. Then McEnroe is booed as he walks out, clearly not favored by anyone to win the finals. The announcers once again highlight how different the two players are by saying that Borg is a baseline player (stands back), and McEnroe is a net player (rushes the net). Once the finals start each player puts his all into every point, they go back and forth point to point and set to set. Eventually Borg goes up two sets to one and has a chance to win his third and final set in the tie break. But McEnroe manages to hang on, fighting for every point and eventually tying the score at two sets each. As the audience watched this, they were in awe of both these players’ tremendous effort and skill. Eventually Borg won the last of five sets making him the 1980’s Men’s singles Champion of Wimbledon for his fifth time. As the award ceremony commenced and the players received their trophies, the crowd cheered for McEnroe. Everyone expected McEnroe to be his regular self, yelling and throwing “tantrums” when things aren’t perfect, but this was the opposite of what happened. He along with Borg played for himself and not just for the outcome leaving the audience stunned. McEnroe lost the championship but won over the world. (Highlights of the 1980s Wimbledon Final)
Finally at the end of the movie Borg and McEnroe bump into each other in private at the airport. With no fans around they hugged with an understanding of each other, and what they’ve gone through to make it where they are today. In a way they are truly the only ones who can understand each other. As the credits come on the writers and producers tell us that Borg and McEnroe went on to be best of friends showing us how they found themselves in each other. With the various rhetorical devices the movie creators used, we are able to take the lesson from this movie that Borg and McEnroe along with many other tennis players are all very much alike.
Borg and McEnroe seen on vacation together as close friends