By Jamie Carrick
28th April 2024
Disclaimer: this review may read as wildly passionate due to severe excitement on the part of the writer, who has been obsessing over this film for two years and anybody in his vicinity can vouch that he has been annoying as all hell whenever the subject comes up (and even when it doesn’t and he brings it up himself).
Challengers tells the story of a tennis prodigy, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), who becomes entangled with two childhood best friends, Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig (Mike Faist & Josh O’Connor), and the resulting fallout of professional and personal passions colliding.
Luca Guadagnino directs from a script penned by playwright Justin Kuritzkes, and to say it’s a relative departure from the rest of Guadagnino’s work is an understandable outlook. If you watch Suspiria or even Call Me By Your Name, there is nothing in their contents to suggest that the man would go on to make a convincing, pulse-pounding sports movie. But here we are, after a long wait (partially due to the 2023 WGA and SAG strikes which resulting in the movie’s six-month delay), and I am here to say that the results are nothing short of excellent.
With a competent, stylish director at the helm, three committed, talented young actors, and the melding of tennis movie and love triangle romantic drama, there was no way that Challengers could be anything less than, at the very, very least, entertaining and sexy. But what we’re given is an extension of that: Guadagnino and co manage to craft a genuinely thrilling tennis movie that also crackles with the sexual and emotional tension of its leads. Kuritzkes and, by extension, Guadagnino, play with their timelines like they’re jungle cats playing with their food, stringing you along between team periods and making you put together the missing pieces of the electrifying triad as you go. You eventually settle into a rhythm due to Marco Costa’s whip-smart editing, a huge contrast to the emotionally charged and slower work he did with Guadagnino on Bones and All, but Costa allows us to really spend time in each timeline before returning to the main one with new, important information about our central trio. Speaking of, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give each of them their own section of pure, unadulterated praise.
Zendaya delivers another spectacular performance that feels like an extension of her superstar persona, but also allows her to play a multitude of things at the same time. The crackling tennis prodigy who never puts a foot out of line, has all of her ducks in a row, and seems to be on the road to unprecedented levels of success, all before even enrolling in college. It’s the college years that are crucial for Tashi. She continues hurtling towards a dizzying legacy, but is halted by a career-ending injury. With both Art and Patrick in her corner, in decidedly different ways, Tashi has to deal with a lot of things at the same time, how she feels about both boys being last on the list. But with Art’s hovering and Patrick’s hotheadedness, it’s not simple to concentrate on her own goals and desires, though she has many. In the ‘present’ timeline, she’s even more complex and thrilling to watch. Juggling more than a few confusing emotions, Tashi has to deal with Art’s losing streak and, then, the inevitability of an electric reunion with Patrick, with whom she hasn’t communicated with in a long time. It’s a lot to piece together for any actress, but Zendaya makes it look easy, mixing her legendary levels of charisma with her exceptional acting chops to really flesh Tashi out and make her feel as complex as possible.
Josh O’Connor as Patrick feels like a natural progression for his career. After time spent on The Crown and other period dramas, it’s refreshing to see him in a contemporary setting, using his good looks and natural charm to entice the viewer, making our perspective on the triangle all the more confusing. We’re initially made to see Patrick as suave but a little thorny and forward, but time opens him up like a flower, showing us the beauty that lies underneath, the sides of himself that he chooses to conceal from most everyone, including Tashi (and even Art most of the time). It’s absolutely beautiful work from O’Connor that serves as more evidence why he’s one of the best young actors around right now. I personally have only seen O’Connor’s more quiet, internal work so to witness him showboating as effortlessly as he does is a wonder to behold. It’s one performance on the surface and an entirely different one underneath it; it’s a true testament to his range as an actor that Patrick is as compelling as he is.
Mike Faist’s star continues to rise as he turns in another compelling, multi-faceted performance. After what should’ve been an Oscar win (and resulted in multiple ICON Wins) for his breakout turn in West Side Story, Faist has consistently turned in very different, but equally special performances. The criminally underseen Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game is a shining example of his screen presence and comedic talent. His turn here as Art Donaldson proves that he can do just about anything that’s asked of him. He has to play multiple things throughout the film: the gentler, worn side of Art and the young, more confident and thoughtful side of him. His platonic (and perhaps romantic?) chemistry with Josh O’Connor feels authentic and natural, playing a big part of setting up the court for the drama to play out. It’s their easy, instant connection that makes things so much harder for both Tashi and the audience, making it impossible to root for just one corner of the triangle when both win you over in different ways.
All three of these performers work together seamlessly, chemistry pulsing at every edge of the cinema screen, making it almost impossible to look away. There will surely be a lot of discussion surrounding who really is a good person or who is the emotional crux of the film and I think any readings are valid here. Tashi is the easy lead of the film; the plot moves because of her, she’s the gravitational pull keeping Art, Patrick, and the entire movie in orbit. Art and Patrick have their own interesting arcs, with Tashi and without, and their relationship is just as important as anything tennis/Tashi-related and stands alone as a key part of the film. What’s really great about the final, exhilarating twenty minutes is that all threads interweave and come together in such a satisfying way that, while you might be left with some questions, everybody’s arcs come plummeting to a head in the most dramatic form possible.
Whilst delivering impressive performances, Zendaya, Faist, and O’Connor are also committed to their physicality as athletes, each one of them believable as a professional tennis player. But in some ways, the triad work in service of the film’s real main character: sweat. Yes, Guadagnino has a very keen eye for some of recent cinema’s sweatiest shots. Whether it’s dripping from Art’s face or rippling across the mens’ bodies in the sauna, the film is full of it, proof that the hard work pays off. In a lot of sports films, there’s a tangible correlation between the electricity of the athleticism and the eroticism that comes along with it. Challengers, more so than most sports films I’ve seen in recent memory, tantalisingly combines the two to mould several thrilling, sexually-charged tennis rallies.
Whenever Tashi, Art, or Patrick are playing, there always seems to feel like there’s a lot on the line, and this feeling is exacerbated by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pulse-pounding electronica score. The thrilling pieces of music are more than reminiscent of their earlier film scoring work on David Fincher’s films, particularly The Social Network. Even though these two films could not be more different, their similar scores work, and that’s down Reznor & Ross’ unrivalled ability to create soundscapes that perfectly reflect what’s happening on screen. Rest assured, some of these score tracks will be making significant appearances in my Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year.
With the knowledge that I would love it regardless due to my adoration for the director and the cast, Challengers surprised even me with its dexterity, fist-clenching athleticism, and how fun it is as the story unfolds. Guadagnino continues to impress not only with his versatility and skill as a director, but in his ability to perfect cast his projects, shining lights either on emerging talents or utilising existing talents in ways that challenge (get it) their status quo as performers.
Challengers is a dizzying, intense, dramatic look at love, toxicity, and the gravity of professional sports, and is a film that I deeply, deeply love and will until the end of time.
Challengers is in theaters worldwide now
Follow the Blueprint on twitter
the blueprint. 