Film of the Week — Battle of the Sexes

Over 90 million people watched Billie Jean King's hugely hyped match against former tennis star Bobby Riggs. The "Battle of the Sexes" came off the back of debate over the lack of equal pay in tennis, and Riggs, by now 55, being a chauvinistic arse. In a film depiction which is as much about the personal struggles of the pair as the final match, Steve Carell makes a compelling Riggs, who you hate yourself a little bit for secretly quite liking. And there's probably a whole text that could be scribed on his seventies tracksuit game. Strong, vulnerable and strong all over again, so believable and watchable is Emma Stone as King that by the film's set-piece ending, your emotional investment in her is total. Also contains a squealing piglet. Times & trailer