Movie: Challengers
Cast: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, Darnell Appling, Bryan Doo, Shane T Harris, Nada Despotovich, John McShane
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Rating: 3/5
Duration: 131 minutes
A modern version of Chaucer’s ‘The Knight’s Tale’, Luca Guadagnino’s tennis psychodrama is generously packed with overt sexual interaction. The film makes every tennis match seem sexual and every tennis conversation a challenge.
We meet the three main characters at a low point in their lives. Tennis superstar who became a coach due to a career-threatening injury, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) took on the responsibility of training her husband, Art, and has since transformed him into a world Grand Slam champion. Lately, however, he’s been on a losing streak, so to shake him up enough to put on a big fight, she signs him up for a lowly “Challenger” event and he finds himself in front of the net, facing his former best friend and Tashi’s friend. ex-boyfriend Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor).
In a flashback, we see the trio at a time when Tashi was poised to become the next big tennis superstar. She had these two shy players, Art and Patrick, literally eating out of his hand. Guadagnino includes a lot of cliché-sounding dialogue, through Tashi’s tennis talk. For her, tennis “is a relationship. When I play like I did today, I feel in love. There is nothing else” And, going by the sensual appeal of this film, the audience will surely be hooked.
We see the trio in fragments over several years and in different cities. The night after the US Junior Open leads to a mess that will last a lifetime. Although Tashi and Art are married, the film continues to reflect on their past and raise questions about who is in love with whom? The trio, now older but still entangled in ways that have yet to be exposed, have reached a point where the challenger match holds their entire future in balance.
Gudagnino turns this into a psychological study that shows humans as insensitive people. The central love triangle exposes the way each tries to cope with fame, love and hard work. Tashi is the one who had to work hard from her humble beginnings, while the two privileged white kids fresh out of boarding school used tennis mainly to get away from boredom. As the years go by, he now has to confront Art’s success. Justin Kuritzkes’ clever dialogue adds a special touch to the verbal barrages. The narrative pesters us with questions. Who does Tashi love? Is he playing with both? What motivates you? The same goes for Patrick and Art. The sexual energy between the three of them is almost palpable. The situation is fluid and unstable. The plot continues to advance and the changes from the past to the present increase the complexity.
Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom makes everything look very clear. The game is brilliantly shot with physical and emotional weight. The camera gently floats and rotates when the work dictates. Marco Costa’s editing gives new meaning to the tempo, while Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score lends gravity to the physical and psychological combinations. Jonathan Anderson’s costumes add weight to the appeal. Zendaya, Faist and O’Connor manage to play their roles with great conviction.
‘Call Me By Your Name’ Guadagnino has made another witty, flirtatious and engaging film. It’s also really fun to watch!