On the surface a sports documentary about the titular tennis legend, John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection is also a call to watch things more closely. Largely compiled from archival 16mm footage taken by Gil de Kermadec for the French Tennis Federation, the documentary closely examines McEnroe’s form, some of his most famous matches, and, yes, his tantrums—all from multiple angles and within multiple contexts. The result is illumination of the sort we could never get from a normally televised production of a match. If this sounds academic, be assured director and editor Julien Faraut keeps things formally playful, stitching together multiple angles of the same shot for emphasis (and occasional comic effect) and layering more intense moments with distortion-heavy guitars on the soundtrack. One of McEnroe’s lengthier pouts is even accompanied by cheeky “technical difficulty” graphics and music. As its subtitle implies, In the Realm of Perfection still takes McEnroe seriously, ultimately suggesting that he was the equivalent of a screen actor (if not the controlling movie director) of each match. It’s not only a convincing theory, but also indicative that, at the end of the day, there may have been a method to McEnroe’s madness.
