Challengers
Luca Guadagnino's relationship/sports picture hybrid is a ball.
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I expected “Challengers” (now in theaters) to be good. I’ve admired the films of director Luca Guadagnino’s that I’ve seen (it’s admittedly a small sample size consisting only of the Timothée Chalamet double bill “Call Me by Your Name” and “Bones and All”) and think star Zendaya is one of our most promising and talented young actresses. I was unprepared for just how accomplished, awesome, entertaining, funny and most importantly, sexy, this thing was gonna be. It’s the best film of 2024 thus far.
“Challengers” takes place over the course of 13 years and bounces back and forth through time much like the tennis balls our flawed protagonists smack the shit outta. We meet Art Donaldson (Mike Faist of the recent “West Side Story” remake) and Patrick Zweig (British actor Josh O’Connor) when they’ve just won the US Open Junior Boys’ Doubles title. The two have been bunkmates at the tennis academy they’ve attended since they were 12. They aren’t just bros … they’re practically brothers.
The duo have their sights set on a new “prize.” She’s Junior tennis sensation Tashi “The Duncanator” Duncan (Zendaya) and despite being younger than them she’s way out of their league. The boys coax her into their hotel room with the promise of beer. Things escalate from there, but Tashi’s never not in control.
We follow this trio through the years – stints for some of them at the prestigious Stanford University, injuries (to body, ego and soul), marriage, infidelity, success and stagnation.
“Challengers” is an abundance of riches. Zendaya (doing her best work to date and sounding strangely like Jennifer Lopez), Faist and O’Connor are all electric and have wonderful chemistry with one another. None of their characters are particularly likable nor are they entirely hissable. They’re flawed folks who are never less than fascinating to watch. The script by first-time feature screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes (husband of “Past Lives” writer/director Celine Song … what a talented couple!) gifts these three prodigious performers with all sorts of notes to play. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross fucks harder than our protagonists do. (I’m listening to it while writing this review and will likely revisit it many times for the foreseeable future.) Guadagnino’s frequent cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom shoots the tennis sequences stylistically and in a manner more befitting a boxing match. These are some damned visceral visuals! Guadagnino cheekily makes a nod to “Call Me by Your Name” by placing a basket of peaches in Art’s locker room prior to a match.
“Challengers” is a lot of things – an excellent and exciting sports movie, an interesting study of relationship dynamics, my favorite Guadagnino film from what I’ve seen and a call to see more of the Italian auteur’s works. In short – it’s a ball.