This time last year we were watching Emma Stone soft-shoe shuffe her way towards Oscar glory in La La Land. This year we may be watching her score another match point with the Academy, given the reviews of her performance as Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes, a film about the real life 1970s tennis legend’s battle to have women get equal prize funds.
Steve Carrell might just get an Oscar nod for his nauseating turn as King’s mysoginist nemesis, ex-pro, Bobby Riggs who challenged her to a match to prove that women are lesser tennis players than men, but it’s newcomer Andrea Riseborough who should be getting all the love for her brilliant portrayal of King’s love interest, Marilyn Barnett.