Challengers

When people first heard about the 2024 sports film, Challengers, their first reactions were something between confusion, hesitation and possibly arousal when they learnt it was going to showcase a tempestuous love triangle between an upcoming young tennis legend and two impressionable young men who get caught in her Venus flytrap (pun very much intended). While it came out too early in the year to get Oscar recognition and the box office was only okay, the critical reaction was pretty strong, with many appreciating the film’s visuals, atmosphere, and particularly its performances. While it might be confronting to some (the trailers do make it look like a threesome flick), the film proves to be much more than just a lusty tennis match.

In 2019, professional tennis player Art Donaldson (played by Mike Faist) continues to falter in matches and is prevented from earning the illustrious Career Grand Slam, which his wife, tennis coach and former tennis star, Tashi Duncan (played by Zendaya) is greatly frustrated by. Hoping to rebuild his confidence, Tashi enters Art in a Challenger event in New York City under the assumption he’s get an easy victory, but this casual getaway is interrupted by his finalist opponent, Patrick Zweig (played by Josh O’Connor), Art’s former best friend and tennis partner back when they were still up incomers in 2006. Flashing back to this fledging period, the two come across Tashi at a party and, after noticing that they’re pinning for her, she uses this attraction as a driving forced to push the boys further in their career, but only manages to tear apart their friendship as they vie for her attention more and more. Years later and with one clearly doing better than the other, this tennis match unloads all of this pent-up aggression, leading to a final release that will feel very cathartic for all parties.

While the script doesn’t unpack this premise as well as it could’ve and its saucy vibe may not work for everybody, the film’s solid construction, enriching visuals and atmosphere, three really great leading performances, and one hell of a great ending, saves what would have been a good but otherwise dull endeavor.

Sports movies are nothing new for Hollywood and some have taken the genre and explored other avenues within it to create original and interesting stories that don’t just rely on the sport to hook people. Personal drama and surrounding factors are usually good ingredients to build an overall engaging sports movie with, but instead of just presenting a tepid romantic affair between three sports players and the fallout that came from this engagement, this movies lathers itself up in raunchiness and unfiltered essence, giving it a distinctly naughty vibe that no doubt comes from director, Luca Guadagnino, whose filmography often involved deeply personal and small-scale stories about exploring things such as sexuality and eroticism. Thankfully and despite how easy it could go in the wrong direction, none of his movies feel like baseless smut as there’s always a purpose and intent behind the blatant sexual tone and angle, and this film is no different, using the love triangle in a way that doesn’t result in cliched arguments or predictable story outcomes, but rather as a tool for exploring a broken friendship and the trials that come with an obsession of any kind. Guadagnino’s directing is really strong in this, bringing his usual chill and laid-back energy to keep the film calming and low key, but also his racier qualities, lavish visuals and internally conflicted characters to help elevate a story that should feel stripped of anything truly exciting.

Guadagnino’s films usually don’t rely too much on dialogue or specific details and instead on the emotions being felt and the interpretive exploration of one’s mental state, and this isn’t always a plus as this film kind of demonstrates. The script written by Justin Kuritzkes could’ve been a little more in depth to really pull out the true strengths of this idea and tone, as the film is at its strongest when the expressions and the atmosphere tell the story rather than the words. A prime example of this is shown with the ending, which climaxes the film’s main returning point of focus as it constantly cutting back and forth between the present and the past as a means of providing context for what led these three to this specific path. While Kuritzkes deserves some praises for being able to knit this non-linear story together in a way that’s still easy to follow (mainly because the story doesn’t have a lot of secondary moving pieces to waste time on), the last 20 mins really elevate the rest of the picture to new heights. While the movie overall is solid (if a little by-the-numbers), the final match point is where everything positive about this film comes to focus; the tension is properly felt, the facial acting from all three leads tells you everything they’re thinking about without any dialogue, the camera work and editing is insanely engaging and feels wonderfully fresh, and the final shot is a perfect place to wrap things up while also being unexpected, it’s a great conclusion.

The film doesn’t really have side characters since it’s laser-focused on the love triangle, meaning that Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor are front and centre at all times which is not a problem at all as all three are fantastic. Each has had their moment to show their acting chops off previously, yet none were huge names yet; Josh O’Connor found success on The Crown, yet not in the movie space, Mike Faist wowed people with his work on the 2021 version of West Side Story but didn’t get a lot of recognition after the fact, and while Zendaya is clearly the biggest star of the three with her work on Euphoria and especially in the MCU Spider-Man films getting her a huge following, she was pinning for roles that felt more adult and would ”challenge” her. She definitely got her wish when she was suggested for the film by producer, Amy Pascal (who worked with her on the Spider-Man films), and the fact that she got involved behind the scenes as a producer shows how much faith she had in it. As performances go, there are a few times where the delivery can be a little flat and strangely dull sounding, but this might come from Guadagnino’s style, as when the three are allowed to emote and express their desires with no words, it’s really strong.

The movie decides more to infer what the motivation of all of its characters are, rather than outright state them, which is felt the most with the character of Tashi, who has nebulous motivations and its never fully stated what she wants out of any of this. While this might seem like poor writing, it works the best with her, as Zendaya is a great fit with this character who is supposed to be distractingly beautiful but has the wit and punch to be a manipulative and domineering but still youthful figure at the same time, and it’s interesting trying to ponder what she’s thinking and what her end goal is. While Zendaya does a great job, Faist and O’Connor are arguably the more interesting characters, as the film is really about their relationship and how even though they’re in a love triangle with another girl, they’re the ones who should get together. While never outright stated, the film heavily implies the two are attracted to the other, and that is constantly felt through the great chemistry shared between the two actors, and while Faist plays a more controlled and serious role whereas O’Connor plays a more rugged and dirty role, the two work very well off each other and have some of the best moments in the entire film, it’s a really great showcase.

The look of a lot of Guadagnino films is very interesting, as they usually have a blend of looking extremely vibrant and extremely muted at the same time, and this movie is no different. Since the movie seems to have a very 70s exploitation vibe to it, this kind of color grading and exposure makes sense, but it goes a little deeper than that which makes things very eye-catching even when it isn’t presenting anything drastically unique. The smaller-scale, almost independent feel to some scenes really helps keep the audience in the moment, the softer lighting is always atmospheric whether for comforting or discomforting reasons, the colors (when they are used) are extremely vibrant, popping, and draw your attention for the intend purpose, and when the film gets extreme and fun with the camera work, it’s insanely impressive and all the more noticeable due to the contrast. The person responsible for this is Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, a Thai cinematographer who has collaborated with Guadagnino on films like Call Me by Your Name and Suspiria, and his talents are nothing short of incredible, as he is able to bring this story to life in such a kinetic and energized way without losing its softer approach.

The previously mentioned quiet moments are already very well filmed and angled, but it’s when he gets unique where things start to really get interesting, and that’s mainly whenever they cut to a tennis match. Being a sport that can be a little boring, this movie does a great job making it very engaging and cinematic, not only through Guadagnino’s initiate and blemished visual style which brings a spiritual and even sexual connection between the athletes when they’re competing, but Mukdeeprom has a lot of fun composing and structuring these scenes, which really brings them to life. There’s a lot of variety in the shot choices throughout the match, it knows when to be static and when to be mobile, the editing by Marco Costa matches the pace of the ball and feels overly cut up to an intentional degree in order to keep the audience fixated, and there’s a lot of unique and odd visual decision that really feel creative like shooting from underneath the court, a first person perspective, from the perspective of the racket, from the perspective of the ball, it’s some of the best display of tennis in any movie. The music is also a highlight point, with the score being handled by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, who have previously received praise for composing music for The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Gone Girl. While the techno synth sound may feel out of place in a more modernized sports film, it actually works quite well at heightening the sexual mood of the film and at elevating the 70s aesthetic, it seems strange at first but is really welcoming.

Challengers may be a challenge to accept out of the gate given how it looked from the advertising, and it doesn’t really have a lot to say about sporting or even relationships by the end, but what it lacks in detail, it makes up for in attitude and experience. This is a movie that you feel rather than comprehend, and through that feeling, you are able to pick up what it gets right and how it’s gathered a strong critical backing. The directing brings a lot to the table, the visuals and editing are hypnotizing (especially during the tennis matches), the three leads are very well performed, and even if a majority of the movie is mainly just good, that final serve bumps it up to very memorable territory. With enough zest and tension to fill a literal tennis court, this game is one that will keep your eyes glued.