The wait for the hottest, sexiest, most intense movie of the year is finally over.
After an arduous two-year wait, Challengers has finally hit theatres. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film follows tennis star Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) and her relationship with two other players, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), two tennis-playing best friends who compete on and off the court for Tashi’s attention and approval.
Thirteen years after the trio first crossed paths, Art and Patrick face off in a match with a trip to the US Open on the line. Tashi, now Art’s wife and coach as well as Patrick’s ex-girlfriend, watches from the sidelines as the film jumps into flashbacks to explain how these characters got here. As the match heightens in intensity, the film throws you for a loop with a psychosexual flashback that only adds to the puzzle.
The film always keeps you on the edge of your seat no matter what year it is or what’s being shown. Written by Justin Kuritzkes, the flashbacks richly enhance the story as you begin to understand what on earth is at stake on the court. The film is also marvelous to look at, with the Director of Photography Sayombhu Mukdeeprom nailing both the match sequences and the romantic ones. It’s a deeply intimate film, even as it portrays Tashi as a larger-than-life figure. The last 20 minutes of the film have some of the best sports sequences I’ve ever seen in my life.
Of course, the cinematography, writing, and direction can’t work without the magnetic trio that is Zendaya, Faist, and O’Connor. In her first leading feature film role of this caliber, Zendaya carries the weight of the film like it’s nothing. She nails Tashi’s ferocity and projection, all while still having undeniable chemistry with both Faist and O’Connor. Faist is incredible as Art, sometimes serving as the audience’s earnest window into this troubled threesome, while showing he can manipulate and scheme just as well as the other two in a split second. O’Connor is an absolute delight as well, as he truly relishes in all of Patrick’s jealousy and cunningness.
Marketed as a love triangle, Challengers dares to go where few pieces of media venture, which is the two male leads lusting after each other, rather than only for the girl. Faist and O’Connor play off of each other so well, truly emulating Tashi’s philosophy that tennis is a beautiful relationship between two enemies. It’s their history, friendship, hatred, and passion that glue the film together, and give it that heat. But the film is less of a love triangle and more of a love square. That fourth player? The game of tennis itself.
It’s why Tashi’s cold practicality and strict adherence to a game plan create this “fire and ice” dynamic that gives the audience so much to feast on while unpacking the film. While Art and Patrick bring the emotions, it’s Tashi always shuts them down in favor of the game. But as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, which spurs Patrick to lash out more and Art to hold on tighter. They put Tashi where she hates to be: at the mercy of anyone but herself.
Having her playing career ripped away from her by forces no one could control, Tashi’s journey shows her growing more and more desperate to stay close to the game she loves, and more importantly, to stay in control. Art gladly gives her that control, satisfied that he got the girl and the career, whereas Patrick challenges Tashi’s order every chance he gets. It’s why it takes everything in Art to sacrifice tennis for Tashi, knowing she’s with him to live out her career through him. Tennis is why Tashi gravitates towards Patrick so much, knowing he’s capable of much more lays out a challenge for Tashi to figure out.
Why is a movie about tennis and three ways so complex and invigorating? It’s because all three characters have blurred the lines between what’s on and off the court. Everything in tennis is sexy, and everything sexy is tennis to these three. There are no low-stakes moments or easy wins: everything is fought for, tooth, nail, and racquet.
In a packed theatre at a Thursday evening preview screening, the audience was hooked like I’ve rarely ever seen. People were reacting out loud in a way that was reminiscent of peak MCU, but this time for a Guadagnino movie about tennis.
It’s that electric.
Review Courtesy of Gabriella Madden
Feature Image Credit to MGM, Warner Bros. Pictures, & Amazon MGM Studios via The Hollywood Reporter