Luca Guadagnino pivots away from horror films back to romantic dramas that brought him such great notoriety in his earlier work, depicting characters experiencing forbidden love and desire in isolated, summer settings. These themes carry through again in Challengers. Unfolding a non-linear narrative that shifts between 2006 and 2019, this elegant and riveting three-character chamber piece is a portrait about the passion and intimacy between a trio of professional tennis players. Both sensual and undeniably compelling, Guadagnino’s 8th feature is a must-see and another mesmerizing one at it.
Originally slated for a fall release last year, the film was pushed back to an April 26th release by Amazon MGM due to the writers and actors strike, in which actresses and cast members were permitted to promote the film. With trailers and speculation that steamy eroticism might make a splash again in mainstream cinema due to the trailer. But any promises or comparisons of viewers looking for something erotic like Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers will not find it here, but it’s still steamy in a particular scene involving lead actor Zendaya that is tastefully done enough to satisfy both Gen Z and old-school erotic cinephiles that long for the days of Showgirls, Color of Night, The Dreamers, and Basic Instinct.
Courtesy Amazon MGM
The film’s first act is a Challengers tennis tournament finals match where the two finalists, Art Donaldson (Make Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), were once best friends but now turned rivals. The film’s structure, written by Justin Kratzke’s (Husband to Past Lives) writer/director Celine Song, actually bounces back and forth from the past to the present as if it were a tennis game. The structure is certainly influenced by The Social Network, and Guadagnino has certainly constructed this film that echoes the greatness of that film as well. With many sexual dynamics and nuances being revealed in between, The crutch between their rivalry is Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), a renowned and top-ranked tennis player that both men have desires for.
Tashi has feelings for both men as well, but her true passion is tennis. Most importantly, she admits that she is more interested in just watching a great game of tennis. Meanwhile, Tashi is in top form as she wins endless tournaments, is sponsored by Adidas, and is already on her way of starting her own foundation as a teenager. She ends up in a relationship with Patrick, but they both grow distant from each other. As their relationship slips away, Art reconnects with them at an upcoming tournament in which Art’s ranks continue to grow. Tashi ends up having a severe injury that puts her tennis career in jeopardy. Tashi ends up breaking up with Patrick, ends up coaching Art, and eventually marries him; they have a daughter together.
Courtesy Amazon MGM
Patrick is now struggling with his tennis. In the beginning of the narrative, we see him losing to unranked players. His confidence is down, and he feels overpowered by tough competition. She ends up persuading and registering Art for a challenger’s tournament that can hopefully empower his confidence before competing at the U.S. Open. Inevitably, he ends up squaring off against Patrick in the finals, who is a broken mess that sleeps in his truck and uses the women he meets on the Tender dating app as a place to crash to save hotel costs.
Kuritzkes’s script is filled with twists and turns, with many power dynamics at play between the three. It’s a luscious film about three people who end up becoming reliant on each other. The three lust and equally loathe each other, but the three are undeniably intertwined, and their love for the sport matches their love for each other, which puts them all at a crossroads.
Courtesy Amazon MGM
The tennis playing on display in this film is expertly staged and edited. You can certainly sense that all of the lead actors put in a great deal of prep time and training to get the sport down. Especially Zadaya, whose character as Tashi is certainly great on a generational level. One of the scene stealers is during a flashback when she shows up to the boys’ hotel room after they invite her over from a dinner party. Both Art and Patrick lust after her; she ends up commencing a three-way make-out exchange and dismisses herself but promises that she will give the winner of their match her phone number the following day.
Zendaya delivers a very strong performance. Tashi, at 19- years -old, is a rising star who decides to study and play tennis at Stanford University instead of playing professionally. She is certainly mature for her age, but she remains enigmatic as well. One thing is for certain: her love for tennis is potent. Zendaya’s performance is her most mature performance to date, one that shows so much potential for the depths she is about to embark on. It’s not quite a towering one, but an effectively layered performance that shows empowerment, mystique, and vulnerability. It’s also the first performance where she plays a character in her 30s during the 2019 scenes.
Courtesy Amazon MGM
Her two co-stars, Josh O’Connor (The Crown, La Chamira) and Mike Faist (West Side Story), are showing great promise as lead men. O’Connor’s Patrick character wants instant gratification on all levels. He is past prime over 30, who makes cash winning mid-tier tournaments and even throwing them if he can get a check quicker. He can’t break into the top-ranked tournaments. He has a cracked phone, is a financial mess, and can’t afford a hotel room, but he has never given up on his love for the game. Contrary to Faist’s Art, who stayed patient over the years, which led to him marrying Tashi, Patrick is rawer and rougher around the edges while Art has more charm, but his competitiveness comes out on the court. The chemistry between the three is certainly alluring; they all look lean, and in many scenes, the two men are draped in sweat, shot in homoerotically stylized style by Guadagnino is richly stylized.
As always with Guadagnino, the film is impeccably crafted and stylistically achieved. Every frame by frequent Guadagnino cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is meticulous and impresses on a technical level. Deeply saturated colors of red and green pop with the visuals. Guadagnino also brings a striking visual flair to the material, where the tennis matches are uniquely crafted, staged, and shot. There is an astonishing shot of the camera beneath the court looking up at the men’s tennis shoes. There are even odd pov shots of the tennis ball that recall Sam Raimi’s signature shot. The period music is aptly utilized, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross once again invoke the right energy and tension that are tailored for the film.
For all its multi-layered love triangle, the film ends up becoming a formally bold examination of broken spirits that intensely pull themselves back together for the love of the sport and even each other. You will be swept away by the energy, passion, tennis play, and love triangle of this film. It’s nice to see mainstream cinema still feel this alive four months into the new year.
CHALLENGERS opens Friday, April 26th in theaters.
Was really good. Great acting, writing, and awesome camera angles for the tennis matches
Looking forward to seeing it!
Saw the preview and thought it seemed interesting!
Great review .sounds like a well put together film with passion and a love triangle .the preview also gave me reason for wanting to see it
I’m sweating with desire…from reading this review! Gotta get another pack of cigarettes to go see this beauty buffet.
4 stars! You love to see it 😀
Sounds interesting
Guadagnino has been on my radar since Call Me By Your Name. Interested to check it out.
Am a huge fan of the sport of tennis and will definitely watch this film from your great review, Robert.
I wanted to watch this for awhile cause of the controversy surrounding it, definitely watching it now
An outrage that they substituted a Boston college for the real Stanford University!!!! IMHO, a step back for Luca after We Are Who We Are and Bones and All. But a step back by Luca still yields a good film. Very well made, excellent cinematography and music score. Story is basically a love triangle in the world of tennis. Very good performances by the 3 leads. 3 of 4 stars
This is a beautifully written and perceptive review of one of 2024’s best films so far!
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross’s score is truly spectacular. The film was quite good, building tension, fascinating characters, and a gripping narrative incorporating torrid sex and taut tennis sequences.
I’ve been hearing great things about this movie. I will check it out.