Throughout his oeuvre, Luca Guadagnino’s films often focus on love as an all-consuming force. In I Am Love (2009) and Call Me by Your Name (2017), the director explored the emptiness of life without passion, while in the less successful, needlessly gory Bones and All (2022), his characters literally devour the ones they desire (and some others besides). In Challengers, Guadagnino’s newest and most invigorated movie, he once again explores passion but in a much different vein.
A sweeping, bold story about a love triangle centered around a crucial tennis match, Challengers reveals its pleasures slowly despite the breakneck, almost hyperkinetic, speed through which it careens for more than two hours. Beginning in 2019 at a tennis tournament, Guadagnino’s snaky plot twists back through time, even doubling back on itself, showing us that tennis, like love, can be a war. At the tournament, we meet Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), a mid-thirties tennis pro who has lost all his confidence following a shoulder injury. His wife, Tashi (Zendaya), is also his coach. Once a rising tennis star, Tashi’s career was ended by a knee injury. Now, Art is her proxy, and she channels her competitive energy through her husband.
The appearance of the down-on-his-luck competitor Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) is the last thing Art needs for his confidence. We soon learn that Art and Patrick share a mutual history as college friends, a relationship that was dashed by competition. Not on the court, but rather for Tashi’s affections. Challengers meticulously lays bare how the three characters careened against one another over the years, adding tension to a match that is already high stakes for everyone involved.
Guadagnino makes an interesting decision that can affect how much one enjoys Challengers: none of the three leads are particularly likable. This lack of attachment could sink many other films. In another exemplary sports movie, Warrior (2011), it’s clear we’re supposed to cheer for Joel Edgerton’s character as he challenges his emotionally damaged brother (played by Tom Hardy) in an MMA competition. But even though Hardy is the heavy, he is drawn in a very human way. Here, Guadagnino’s contempt for the rich comes through and our loyalties shift numerous times between Art and Patrick as they take turns betraying and supporting one another.
Another false lead is the film’s marketing campaign. Challengers may look like a steamy sex romp but it’s fairly tame beyond some locker-room nudity. Yes, Zendaya is shown in some revealing outfits, but much of the sex is implied here. Instead, Guadagnino depicts his bodies in motion. There is an inherent eroticism in a game like tennis and the director looks to mine the implied intercourse that is part of the sport rather than waste valuable time with his characters in the buff. And the director uses every trick to heighten the suspense of this very important match, drawing out the result until the final frame. Aided by a deliriously pulsing score by Atticus Finch and Trent Reznor, Challengers is appropriately stressful and a lot of fun.
So where does Tashi fit into the equation? Played with cold precision by Zendaya, it is unclear if she really loves Art or rather the idea of winning. Both men turn in excellent, often dopey performances, but we can’t help but feel Tashi is always one step ahead of her suitors. Which man does she prefer? What is it that she wants? These questions spur the action in Challengers, a puzzle that is as enticing as the tennis match itself.
If anything sets Challengers back, there are moments in Justin Kuritzkes’ script where the characters talk about tennis in a way that is just too knowing, too in love with the metaphor. “Are we talking about tennis?” Patrick asks Tashi during an argument. “We’re always talking about tennis,” she responds. However, Guadagnino’s bravura direction and the all-in performances of its three leads smooths out rough spots like these in the script, making Challengers an early contender for one of the best films of 2024.
Photo courtesy of MGM
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