Challengers
"Challengers," directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes, is a deliriously entertaining affair that explores these ideas within a love triange of impossibly good-looking professional tennis players, each balancing their own motivations and secret desires, often exploding into fireworks on and off the court. It's a nearly perfect blend of sports drama and erotic thriller with everything moving at 135 mph; the camera races back and forth like it's attached to a tennis ball during a volley (quite literally at one point) while the music pulsates at equally high speeds, mixed at a volume just barely lower than the dialogue being spoken, as if hearing the words and seeing the pictures aren't nearly as important as coming away with a visceral feeling. The end result is an expertly-made, energetic blast of entertainment that will have you feeling happily exhausted, like you just went three sets and came out on top.
The story follows childhood best friends Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), two highly-lauded young tennis players with bright careers just in front of them. The two are extremely close, with a not-subtle sexual energy between them, even as they both lust after Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), another young star that is already on a rocketship to the top. The two boys are in complete awe of Tashi, who takes tennis way more seriously than either of them. "I'm no homewrecker," she tells them right away; sex and games are well and good, but she is there to win. Her sole motivation is the relentless chase of those rarely-achieved, perfect moments in tennis where both players are at their absolute peak, sharing perfection between them like two lovers, communicating intimately beyond any kind of physical touch.
Tashi ends up going to Stanford alongside Art, but maintains a long-distance relationship with the scruffier Patrick, who decides to immediately go pro. Patrick is a charming hustler with a devilish smile, someone who Tashi isn't considering for the long term but also can't deny the animal attraction between them. The clamer, more reserved Art is the third wheel who also knows Tashi and Patrick will never last, biding his time and quietly pushing them into breaking up so he can get his chance. There is palpable chemistry in every direction between each point of this love triangle, and you often can't tell who exactly is jealous of whom. Zendaya is perfectly cast as a kind of championship trophy that only one of the guys can hold at a time. "You're everyone's type," she is told, and she knows it.
But what really drives any of these people? That's the question that is key to understanding "Challengers," especially as the movie shifts gears in its second half. A serious knee injury ruins Tashi's chance at ever being number one, and she begins to coach (and eventually marry) the more serious Art, hoping to live vicariously through his successes. Art wins several major tournments over the years, and as his career winds down, he is on the eve of competing in the U.S. Open, the only tournment he has left to win to complete a career Grand Slam. Tashi enters Art in a Challenger event in New Rochelle, New York, as Art needs to regain confidence before the big open after recovering from his own injury. Who else rolls up to the Challenger event but Patrick, who is now a faded, mostly unknown player living out of his car, scraping by in significantly lower level tournaments.
As Art and Patrick are on an inevitable collision course to meet in the finals of the Challenger event, the three players reignite passions, reveal secrets and manipulate each other to fit their own designs; again, what is really driving these people? Is Tashi intentionally pushing Art and Patrick's buttons in a grand plan to push Art to greatness, or is she being driven back to Patrick due to the doldrums of a dissatisfying life? Is this Patrick's last chance to make something of his career, or is he more interested in his lust for Tashi and his old rivalry/passion with Art? As Art ages and his body begins to break down, does he even have the desire to be great anymore, or would he rather retire as just a pretty successful player and settle down with his family?
The three leads are all wonderful, but Josh O'Connor makes the most out of the juiciest role, brimming with confidence, swagger, and a dangerous smile that makes him desirable, even as a stinking loser with heaps of unfulfilled potential. Faist as Art is a more muted character (intentionally), but he still has some fire to him, as shown in a scintillating figurative and literal dick-measuring contest in a steam room. Zendaya is chanelling the energy of the Williams sisters, self-assured and in control, which makes for fascinating scenes towards the back half, when she seemingly begins to show cracks in the facade (or does she?).
Guadagnino ("Call Me By Your Name", "Bones and All") has always ventured to take big swings with his visual style, and it mostly pays off here. With the aid of master cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (who shot two other Guadagnino films as well as several by cinephile legend Apichatpong Weerasethakul), the camera captures every inch of the three beautiful co-leads, shooting them appropriately as sexy, larger-than-life athlete heroes. Even the few scenes of actual tennis gameplay are jazzed up to the nth degree, as the camera is attached to the players, the ball, the racquets, anything that is in constant motion, leading to visuals that walk the line between innovative and corny. In a market of mostly dull-looking blockbusters, I support any director willing to take chances with visual style, so I have nothing but admiration for how this movie looks (even if I did flinch every time the ball whizzed within millimeters of the camera lens).
The movie lacks any grand moral or profound message; this is pure entertainment. The techno-infused score by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor is inviting you to a party. If you're too tired and not in the mood to hang, it could prove to be exhausting, but if you're loose and ready for anything, "Challengers" is a ton of fun.
