Two big names in documentary film – Asif Kapadia (Senna, Diego Maradona) and Joe Sabia (Vogue’s 73 Questions series) – chronicle the final days of sporting giant Roger Federer.
It begins with a press release announcing his retirement, and proceeds to feel like a press release for his career. It was never likely that this elder statesman of sport, with all his endorsements and concerns, would throw the doors open on his inner psyche. However, the film is a procession of affectionate friends and admirers who offer very little that couldn’t already be guessed. Essentially, we learn that he was a great player, seems like a nice man, and will be missed by the sport he conquered. As sporting fables go, it’s not exactly 30 for 30. The film is begging for a deeper look at what is needed to rise to the top, a glimpse of what makes a champion tick.
Interviews with fellow pros and footage from his final bow at the Laver Cup in London in 2022 are moving as human drama. However, this isn’t the textured portrait of an elite sportsman we have come to expect from Kapadia. The amiable Federer travels the world and considers certain chapters in his 24 years in the game, although none with any scrutiny. It’s a smooth, fan-friendly tribute that may bring a tear to fans who want to remember the good times, but leave everyone else cold.
Roger Federer was never a divisive iconoclast like John McEnroe or even Boris Becker, but Twelve Final Days has a marked lack of curiosity about the man beneath the accolades. Tennis lovers will revel in the footage of the player at his best, but the film as a whole offers only basic shots.
Federer: Twelve Final Days is on Prime Video from 20th June.
