26/47
Julie is the star of an elite tennis academy. When her coach is under investigation and suddenly suspended, all the players at the club are encouraged to speak out. But Julie decides to remain silent. 97th Academy Awards 2025. I saw her at the 2024 Ghent Film Festival. There are many scenes of tennis practice and related training, but not to the point where it would be annoying, even for someone (like me) who doesn’t play any sports. The issues presented are contemporary, and we see many similar cases on TV and in the newspapers, from rumors and openly alleged to legally proven. Here we also clearly see that we never learn exactly what happened, how far it went, and how long it lasted, mainly due to privacy concerns for the accused as well as the victims. The latter is my problem with this film. . When the end credits rolled, I still didn’t know what the real problem was. The word "stop" is used very often by Jeremy (the accused coach), repeatedly emphasizing that he stopped as soon as Julia said she wanted him to stop. Is this a case of sexual harassment?? It is noteworthy that Julia reacted sharply when she found out that Jeremy had obtained a coaching position elsewhere (we recognize this “moving” tactic in the church and cases of sexual abuse). She also asked her newly appointed coach if he was willing to continue working with her in the event that Jeremy was reinstated in his old job. Another unresolved topic is why Julia remained silent and refused to participate in the negotiation sessions organized by officials who are obliged to “do something”. Did she not want to reveal her reasons for remaining silent and remaining outside the upcoming investigation? Or is it guilt that she was late in asking Jeremy to stop? I can only guess what her reasoning was. (Maybe I missed something and it was clear to everyone else watching the same movie.) Overall, interesting for tennis fans and equally for others interested in the main "me too" theme of this movie. The jumbled tennis practice scenes do not dominate or distract from the main issues. We see Julie in many scenes and in many moods, while keeping us captivated by the developments of the story throughout the run. The other young actors involved also did a good job.
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