A one-time British tennis phenom accuses her former coach of coercing her into a sexual relationship when she was a teenager in the thriller “Fifteen-Love,” streaming on Sundance Now. Is he a creep? Or is she making it up, fueled by long-held resentments toward this once pivotal figure in her life?
The pair had been eyeing a career of Grand Slam wins together before an injury put an end to all that. Five years later, Justine is working as a physiotherapist at a posh tennis academy with lush grass courts on a country estate. Now in her early 20s, her life is considerably less dazzling as she tries to manage her simmering rage and disappointment with boozy nights out. Meanwhile, her ex-coach, Glenn, has moved on with another player, who has just won the French Open. Did you watch the match, asks Justine’s mother? She shakes her head no. “Why would I fangirl over the coach who ditched me?”
When Glenn returns to England to work at the same tennis academy where Justine is currently employed, she’s less than happy about this turn of events. His presence has a way of rubbing his success (and their shared history) in her face. Hence her decision to go public with that explosive accusation. Whether anyone will believe her is an open question, including close friends and even her mother, who have all weathered Justine’s tenuous relationship to the truth.
The intimacy between a coach and athlete often goes unexplored in real-life or fictional contexts. That’s what “Fifteen-Love,” from show creator Hania Elkington, is interrogating. When does it go over the line? What does that look like? (The show premiered in the UK last summer on Amazon; not sure why it’s getting its U.S. premiere on Sundance Now, but such are the vagaries of streaming.) Whereas filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s recent and similarly tennis-themed “Challengers” comes across like a series of provocations, “Fifteen-Love” is aiming for something meatier while also indulging in plenty of entertaining twists and turns.
Talented and good at her job, Justine is also obsessive, inappropriate and stunted. She comes to work hungover and her reckless unpredictability doesn’t match the academy’s upscale vibe, whereas Glenn fits right in and is trusted implicitly. He’s a smooth operator and an egomaniac who is either adept at managing the needy psychology of elite athletes, or a master manipulator — or maybe both. Is Justine getting screwed over, or is she trying to screw him over? She’s a loose cannon and messy enough that someone might believe she’s lobbing false accusations to torpedo Glenn’s future. But that doesn’t automatically mean he’s not a predator. So who is the lying party?
Smartly, the series doesn’t rely on this mystery to carry the entire narrative, but reveals the truth halfway through the six-episode season, when the story shifts into a thriller about whether it’s even possible to hold people accountable.
Vulnerable and mouthy and charming despite all her rough edges, actress Ella Lily Hyland keeps you guessing just enough in the beginning about Justine’s motives. That she resembles Anna Kournikova is just an extra bonus that sells the tennis of it all. As Glenn, Aidan Turner is doing all kinds of interesting things that simultaneously lean into and subvert the hunky leading man persona he crafted for Masterpiece’s “Poldark,” his best known role in the U.S.
Justine walked away from tennis after a lingering wrist injury that may have worsened for suspicious reasons, but everyone — including Glenn — keeps saying she could have bounced back if only she had stuck with her physical rehab.
So what exactly happened between these two? A series of flashbacks first complicates then clarifies that question and the show has found an intelligent way to straddle the line between nuanced sensitivity and juicy drama, all set against a gorgeous backdrop. It’s smart, endlessly watchable and the kind of series that would likely find a larger audience were it available on a more popular streamer.
“Fifteen-Love” — 3.5 stars (out of 4)
Where to watch: Sundance Now
Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.
