Sex is a profitable business. Sports are also a good business. What about retro EDM? It can’t hurt. All this is part of Italian film director Luca Guadagnino’s new erotic tennis drama Challengers. It is a raunchy feel-good movie that knows it is very good right from the beginning. Even before we see the iconic MGM “lion roar” logo at the start, we see quick flashes of Zendaya (Spider-Man), Josh O’Connor (Emma.) and Mike Faist (The Bikeriders) in character as tennis players. We get it, Luca — this movie is going to be epic. And it is.
Other than two small complaints about the overlong ending and O’Connor’s eye-roll of a tennis serve that will make real-life players wince (you’ll see), this movie is nearly perfect — but not for young tennis players out there. Written by Justin Kuritzkes, this is hard R-rated stuff that infuses psychological drama with lots of tactile sensuality.
Luca Guadagnino’s last movie, Bones and All with Taylor Russell and TimothĂ©e Chalamet, also wasn’t for younger audiences. He was pushing boundaries with Call Me By Your Name too, and that remains true with Challengers. No, this isn’t just another heated sports movie about a few extremely competitive stars trying to win it all. Actually, in some cases, it’s quite the opposite. One of the players here is running out of steam when the film begins, another simply looks like a greasy burnout, and the third palpably refuses to believe that the glory days have come and gone.
Tashi (Zendaya) has essentially lost her career as a tennis player but now coaches her husband Patrick (O’Connor). He happens to be on a losing streak and is about to play Art (Faist), a childhood friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend. There are a lot of emotions, secrets, regrets, desires — everything — bouncing around between these three, and it’s fun to see them play out.
You’ve probably seen the marketing campaign, which certainly positions Challengers as Zendaya’s movie first and foremost. But the two-time Emmy winner for HBO’s Euphoria isn’t the only scene-stealer here. In fact, Rue might be a juicier role for her at the end of the day, but her tennis-star persona Tashi is definitely an intriguing and magnetic character surrounded by two men who are trying to prove themselves (in tennis and in bed, to themselves and others). You don’t have to be a sex therapist to know where this budding love triangle might get complicated…
The storytelling itself gets a little messy too; rapidly disjointed narrative. But the occasional title cards that reveal large time jumps — sometimes 10 years or even longer — help us keep up. Sometimes O’Connor has scruffy facial hair, sometimes he looks young and fresh. And all three stars are undeniably very good-looking. I mean it: Regardless of your sexual preference, there’s a good chance one or two moments in Challengers might get you going.
And with that being said, it is not only the sexual tension that will make your heart race. Challengers is heavily influenced by pounding electronic dance music which might seem like an overkill in some situations to certain viewers. Look out for Patrick and Tashi’s heated argument in her Stanford dorm room before a big game. No tennis playing happens here; instead, the on-and-off-again couple engages in a heated volley of insults.
The intentionally overwhelming music — reminiscent of Jon Brion’s famously ear-splitting score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love — also shows us that tennis stars feel the emotional stakes of a Grand Slam match outside of the court. Meanwhile as an audience member, you might find yourself jumping out of your seat and dancing in the aisle.
Also, this fiery exchange between Patrick and Tashi demonstrates how truly talented O’Connor is as an actor; after watching Challengers and his recent film La Chimera we can’t help but be excited for what this British performer does next. He stole season four of The Crown on Netflix with Emma Corrin, but some would argue that this new sports movie “challenges” his turn as Prince Charles for O’Connor’s best role yet.
Then there’s Faist who was phenomenal in Pinball (2022) and arguably Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story’s MVP besides Oscar-winning Ariana DeBose. Out of all three leads in Challengers, his portrayal of Art might be the quietest performance but rest assured he still serves up aces left right centre both literally and figuratively looking every bit like a professional tennis player should do so.
But Art also gets his moment to shine during the thrilling climax – a final tennis match between him and his lifelong friend. No spoilers here however there is one earth-shattering revelation which leaves us shaking in our boots about what Art will do next. Only problem with this scene is it goes on about fifteen minutes too long. However we can forgive Guadagnino for this because the rest of the movie is so viscerally charged that you may want to go and see it again.
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