''7 Days in Hell'' is a sports

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

directed by Jake Szymanski and written by Murray Miller. The film premiered on July 11, 2015, on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

and July 8 on

HBO Now HBO Now (formerly named HBO from July 2020) was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on ...

. The film was inspired by the Isner–Mahut marathon men's singles match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships.

Plot

The film is framed as a fictitious

HBO Sports Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based ...

documentary incorporating

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

footage. It explores the backgrounds of the competitors Aaron Williams and Charles Poole, two professional tennis players who face off in what becomes the longest match in history. Aaron Williams is considered "The Bad Boy of Tennis." He is an American orphan who was found on the streets and adopted by Richard Williams, who raised Aaron with his daughters,

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and Serena. At the 1996 Wimbledon Men's Singles Final, his serve hits a line judge, who dies from a heart attack. Williams wins the match, pushes Prince Edward at the post-match ceremony, then disappears. Charles Poole is a British child prodigy, forced into a tennis career by his domineering mother, who threatens to disown him if he loses. On track to become the youngest professional tennis player in history, he appears on Caspian Wint's sports talk show hosted while only 15, telling Wint that he idolizes Williams. Williams resurfaces in Sweden creating a male underwear line that is discontinued for causing infertility. Williams runs out of funds, descends into

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

and an addiction to PCP, and ends up in prison in Sweden. Two weeks before the 2001 Wimbledon Championships starts, Poole is asked by a reporter if he is a better player than Williams, he says yes. This comment reaches Williams, who escapes prison and becomes a free man, according to Swedish law. The All-England Chair Committee, led by the Duke of Kent, refuses to let Williams play. Committee member Edward Pudding, believing that Williams' participation will spike interest for the tournament, convinces the Committee to let the 128th-seeded Williams play the 2nd-seeded Poole. The night before the match, Poole receives a call from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, who tells him to "win." On the first day of the match, Poole wins the first set 6–0. Before the second set starts, a thunderstorm suspends play for the rest of the day. On the second day, a revitalized Williams takes the second and third sets under the influence of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. That night, Poole gets another call from the Queen. She drunkenly shouts expletives and bribes him with a knighthood if he wins. On the third day, neither Williams and Poole are willing to surrender the match. After eight hours of intense tennis, the match is suspended. On the fourth day, a female streaker runs onto the court. Williams tries to subdue her, but ends up having hours of sex with her, then has sex with a male streaker, then has a threesome when the female returns; the match is suspended on account of darkness. Before the fifth day, Williams arranges a press conference to announce he has located his birth father, British singer Engelbert Humperdinck. He claims he will dedicate his performance at Wimbledon to all Englishmen. After darkness again suspends the match, Poole is physically attacked in an elevator by the Queen. Before the sixth day, Williams is hit by a truck, which is implied to be driven by Poole. Williams leaves the hospital and elects to play with one arm. In the 196th game, with Poole serving 98-97 and triple match point, illusionist

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

appears on Poole's shoulders. Copperfield later claims (with a wink) that he was supposed to appear on the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

. Poole, distracted, fails to win the match in the sixth day. Before the seventh day, Poole and Williams meet at a joint press conference. Williams reveals that a

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made pornogra ...

of himself and Poole's ex-girlfriend Lily has been leaked, enraging Poole. The two proceed to the court. Queen Elizabeth is in the royal box, and when the two players challenge each other to fight, she orders the judges to allow them to fight. Poole and Williams charge the net and kill each other after simultaneously hitting one another in the head with their rackets. The two are buried together in the same coffin. The documentary ends with video flashbacks of Poole and Williams praising each other.

Cast

Also appearing as themselves are

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 2 ...

, Filip Hammar,

Jim Lampley James Lampley (born April 8, 1949) is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He is best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' for 30 years. He covered a record 14 Olympic ...

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...

, Soledad O’Brien, and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

Broadcast

The American premiere on HBO on July 11, 2015, was watched by 579,000 viewers. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the telemovie premiered on August 8, 2015, on Showcase.

Critical reception

References

External links