17 Apr REVIEW – ‘Challengers’ is a very stylish, occasionally trashy, palpably sexy, and unashamedly horny good time
Do you like tennis? If your answer is no, the good news is Luca Guadagnino‘s Challengers is still very likely to be right up your alley. Or in your court. Or some other tennis pun. Much like King Richard wasn’t inherently a “tennis film,” this very stylish, occasionally trashy, palpably sexy, and unashamedly horny good time is more of a tantalisingly soapy character study than an introspection on the ins and outs of jeu de paume. Ménage à trois is a far more appropriate French term to be applied here.
Led by a fierce, fiery, and scheming performance from Zendaya and sensational supporting turns from Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, it’s a delicious portrait of the power dynamics at play in a dishy love triangle that sets the screen ablaze. Imbued with Guadagnino’s evocative style and elevated by an absolutely banging score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, it might just be the most effortlessly cool and unapologetically campy film of the year.
When we first meet Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan, she’s seemingly happily married to Art Donaldson (Faist), a tennis champion currently struggling through a crippling losing streak. Once a bright tennis talent herself, Tashi took the role of Art’s coach after a tragic injury ended her career as a teenager. As the biggest power couple in the game (think Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi in the late 90s), Tashi is desperate to see Art regain his confidence before the upcoming U.S. Open; the only tournament he’s yet to win.
The answer appears in the form of entering Art in a Challengers tournament; a contest mostly comprised of lower-ranked players looking to earn eligibility points for entry into larger competitions. Such an amateurish event should be a breeze for someone as experienced as Art. However, Tashi’s plan is upended by the surprise entrance of her ex-boyfriend Patrick Zweig (O’Connor), Art’s childhood best friend and one-time tennis prodigy whose career never took off like his teenage pal. Broke, single, and down on his luck, Patrick is looking for redemption and possibly revenge.
Crafted in a non-linear fashion with numerous flashbacks to a time 10-12 years prior, Justin Kuritzkes‘ twist-filled screenplay will consistently keep you on your toes as we bear witness to the mind games, manipulations, and power plays of this fascinatingly tangled trio of damaged souls. While all three seemed determined to win both on and off the court by any means necessary, it’s abundantly obvious Tashi is the one who’s really pulling the strings here. These boys are putty in her hands and she’s deliciously devious at enacting every goal with the precision of someone who has always known how to get her way.
Outside of her Emmy-winning work on Euphoria, this is undoubtedly Zendaya’s best work to date. With a death stare that could melt the flesh off your face and a penchant for icy-cold line delivery, Tashi is a force to be reckoned with. One of her blisteringly brutal comeback lines to Patrick might be the greatest insult you’ll hear on screen all year. She’s an endlessly fascinating character. So cold, calculating, and confident, yet also insecure, endearing, and oddly lovable. That’s a credit to Zendaya’s captivating performance where she relishes in slowly revealing Tashi’s numerous layers as the brilliant strategist who is always thinking three steps ahead. Watching her evolve from a giggling teenage girl to a bold young woman is a true thing of beauty.
Gravitating around Zendaya in such a strong female role is a tough task, but O’Connor and Faist are more than equipped for the challenge. As the somewhat scummy but strangely alluring Patrick, O’Connor is perfectly smarmy, bringing a terrific juxtaposition of bravado and vulnerability to this wonderfully complex antagonist. As the alpha male who seems to have it all, Faist is sublime at unravelling Art’s deep insecurities that stem from knowing he wasn’t Tashi’s first choice in their youth. Despite his overwhelming success, there’s constant fear displayed in Faist’s widely expressive eyes that capture just how fragile this superstar of world sport really is.
As with every Guadagnino film, the chemistry between his lead actors is off the damn charts. While this is all framed as a twisted triangle of two men vying for the same girl and both O’Connor and Faist have an undeniable spark with Zendaya, it’s really the palpable connection between these two friends turned foes that drives the passion of the narrative. There’s a glorious undercurrent of homoeroticism practically every time Art and Patrick share the screen. Guadanino is hardly subtle at times, like one moment when Patrick takes a bite of Art’s churro (you read that correctly). And a scene of extended heated dialogue between the towel-clad pair inside a sauna is far more erotic than the film’s actual sex scenes.
It’s in these moments of great passion that Reznor and Ross’ thumping, synth-heavy score kicks in. At first, it’s quite jarring and feels rather out of place. But it’s when you realise the pulsating rhythm is essentially a character in itself that you realise the pure brilliance of Reznor and Ross’ compositions. Every electronic beat feels more at home in a nightclub, yet somehow works so staggeringly well here in creating a rising level of tension that threatens to snap at any moment. Guadagnino knows precisely when to unleash the score and exactly how to have it perfectly undercurrent the visuals he’s creating.
Guadagnino’s direction is lush, slick, and maybe a touch over-stylised at certain times, particularly in the tense finale where his flare for theatrics almost crosses the line from artistically clever to eye-rollingly ridiculous. The final moment will be wildly divisive and it’s one I’m still personally wrestling with. Maybe it’s genius. Maybe it’s dreadful. Maybe it’s both. But it is damn memorable. Working with cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Guadagnino works his camera from tight close-ups to capture every raw emotion to odd angles and occasional POV shots including one moment where we the audience literally become the flying tennis ball. It’s all very kitschy and camp, but, you’ll be having so much fun that it’s hard to quibble.
To be completely honest, the more I’ve sat with Challengers, the more I’ve grown to adore it. Perhaps that will be your experience too. It’s a lot to take in. Perhaps too much. But you get the feeling that’s exactly how Guadagnino wants it to be. Cemented by three magnetic performances from three of the best young actors in the business, it’s all so devilishly saucy and dryly scandalous that it’s hard not taken by its dedication to cinema with a big pinch of spice. There’s an energy and adrenaline to this film that’s irresistibly intoxicating. Game, set, match. It’s a stone-cold winner.
Distributor: Warner Bros./Amazon MGM Studios
Cast: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, Darnell Appling, Nada Despotovich, A.J. Lister
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Producers: Amy Pascal, Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, Rachel O’Connor
Screenplay: Justin Kuritzkes
Cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Production Design: Merissa Lombardo
Costume Design: Jonathan Anderson
Editor: Marco Costa
Music: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Running Time: 131 minutes
Release Date: 18th April 2024 (Australia)