‘Challengers’ Review: Another Serve from Zendaya and Luca Guadagnino
A Totally Reel Review
Rate It Out of Eight:
7/8
Challengers is my favorite movie of the year so far. Granted, it’s only April, but there haven’t been that many movies released this year that I feel very strongly about. One of those others is Dune: Part 2, also starring Zendaya. Unlike Dune: Part 2, however, this one I really enjoyed from the first viewing. Luca Guadagnino has made some memorable artistic choices across cinematography, costumes, and score, and combined with a strong script and compelling performances, it all made for an entertaining two hours. I will say it works that Challengers doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a story about tennis, and three complicated, flawed people, but it’s not trying to be more than that.
I understand why this movie was marketed as a sexy tennis movie with Zendaya, but it grossly oversimplifies Challengers and does not do it justice. It’s less about Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor vying for Zendaya’s attention, and more an exploration of ego, ambition, and to a lesser extent, how messy it gets when two best friends have eyes for the same girl.
Even if you have no interest in tennis, I highly recommend the film. Luca Guadagnino himself said that tennis is such a boring sport to watch, but the editing and his creative vision make this movie anything but boring. There are some experimental cinematography choices in the tennis matches, and the EDM score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross maintains an upbeat tempo.
Not a Tennis Movie
This movie is not about tennis in much the same way Whiplash isn’t really about drumming. Whiplash is about the price of perfection and the insane lengths people will go to hone their craft. Challengers has similar themes, exploring how one’s ambitions bleed over into their personal life, and tennis is just a vehicle for exploring those ideas. Unlike team sports, professional tennis revolves around individual rankings, with cut-offs for its most elite tournaments. Even the best of friends are always competing against each other.
“What I found in the script is a very witty, entertaining and dynamic story that had this great concept of tennis and relationships bouncing within one another and one being a mirror to the other.” — Luca Guadagnino
Mike Faist’s character Art, and Josh O’Connor’s character Patrick, were best friends at the beginning of the movie. However, their friendship ends and their professional careers diverge after meeting Zendaya’s character Tashi. While Tashi is incredibly important to the story, Art and Patrick’s relationship was, at least for me, more interesting to see as it evolved over time. These two characters have very different personalities; Patrick is audacious, unafraid to go after what (or who) he wants without much regard for how Art feels, whereas Art hesitates more and is less outright ambitious, though he definitely has some sly moments. It’s fascinating to see how they pursue a common goal (or in this case, woman) and the strain that Tashi puts on their friendship. That scene from the trailer when Tashi tells them to “come here” is a perfect example of their two personalities; Art asks, “Which one of us?”, while Patrick immediately scrambles to sit next to her. While they’re vying for Tashi’s attention, this is also where tennis comes in — player rankings add another layer of resentment in their relationship throughout the course of the movie.
Challengers is a story about three flawed people and how toxic they each are, which plays out on and off the court. The EDM score adds energy to the tennis scenes, and watching this in IMAX made me appreciate all the sound editing. The story’s pacing is great, effectively moving through time and revealing key information as the story unfolds. Luca Guadagnino’s direction brought out incredible performances from the trio. Zendaya balanced being conniving and being vulnerable, while Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor had incredible chemistry with each other. We can tell how close they are (with many hints of perhaps being even closer than we see onscreen) when there are so many moments of unconsciously synchronized movements and mirrored mannerisms. I do think Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor were were slightly more compelling for me personally, and I was honestly more invested in their dynamic with each other than their relationship with Tashi.
Three Messy Characters
Warning: the following section will have spoilers, please skip to Risky Creative Choices if you have not seen the movie yet
There is something so entertaining about watching messed up people screw each other over for two hours. Sometimes having unlikable characters really backfires, but personally, I was pretty invested from the beginning. Tashi and Patrick are obviously not poster children of fidelity, but even Art had his sly moments, trying to wedge himself between Patrick and Tashi back in their Stanford days. I felt that Art’s character was sidelined in the third act, which revolved around flashbacks to Tashi and Patrick’s encounters leading up to the final. Art had one major scene talking to Tashi in their room the night before, but I would’ve loved to see more scenes of him and Patrick alone.
The sauna scene gave us a sneak peek of the tension and what was left of their friendship. I did really enjoy the camera angles used during that scene — shot from above Josh O’Connor so that the viewer looked down at him, and then from below Mike Faist so that we’re gazing up at him. It feels more immersive and subtly signals the power dynamics between them. That was the first time in their friendship that we see a reversal from their younger days; Art was now ranked so much higher than Patrick (#271) and had six Grand Slam titles. He also felt superior for “winning” Tashi, but Patrick held his own ground knowing that Art’s marriage was falling apart. I wanted so much more of this relationship — the first act builds their friendship and chemistry so well that, even in the sauna and final match, you can still feel lingering emotions.
Zendaya’s Tashi is written to be the heart of the movie. Her coming into their lives disrupts the boys’ friendship, and her injury, and subsequent coaching, propelled Art to greatness. She is abrasive and blunt, easily abandoning someone to further her own ambitions. From the very first scenes of her marriage with Art, when they’re sitting on the couch watching his elimination from a slam, she exudes bitter disappointment. She made a bet on Art all those years ago and looked resentful now that his career was in free fall. It’s no coincidence that her half of the billboard ad in New Rochelle had stayed up after the storm, while Art’s face had fallen down.
Her character reminded me so much of those parents who never got to fulfill their own personal dreams, and then make it their life’s mission to live vicariously through their children. She pushed Art to win Grand Slams because she never got to, and when he wasn’t winning anymore, she gave up on him. The line that really struck home is when he asked her if she would still love him if he lost, and she sneered, “What am I, Jesus?” I couldn’t decide if she ever truly loved Art; when she came back the night before the final and saw him sleeping with their daughter, I do think she might have felt a twinge of regret. Why else would she ask Patrick to lose? We see earlier on, after her fight with Patrick at Stanford, that she’s not completely unfeeling, for the closeup lingers on her face and we see vulnerability for a moment before she stows it away.
The challenge with a character is not necessarily justifying their actions, but always making them feel human enough to empathize with their decisions. — Zendaya
Patrick, on the other hand, is such an interesting contrast to Art. He wasn’t afraid to argue with Tashi or challenge her authority. I do believe Tashi respected Patrick in a way that she never did with Art. Art was like an adoring fan, in love with her and happy to be molded by her. She never would’ve been able to control Patrick the same way, and I do think they never would’ve worked out in the long run. Patrick may have been ranked far lower than Art, but at least Tashi held him in higher regard, and clearly couldn’t stay away from him. I don’t think she respected him, necessarily, but I do think she recognized a similar passion in him that Art was always missing. In the trailer, Patrick says to Art, “It’s nice to see you lit up about something, even if it’s my girlfriend.” I honestly don’t think Art could’ve had the success he did without Tashi constantly pushing him.
And to touch on the ending very quickly, I’m not the biggest fan. Normally I love ambiguous endings, but I really wanted to see Art and Patrick reconcile (bonus if they both left Tashi behind and just got together themselves). There is just enough hope in those final shots, but it didn’t feel satisfying. It almost feels like Justin Kuritzkes didn’t know how exactly to end it, so he just left it up to interpretation. On a side note, I do find it so funny that he and his wife Celine Song (writer and director of Past Lives) have both written scripts this past year about love triangles. Overall, though, I was actually pretty sad to see the movie end at all.
Risky Creative Choices
In addition to the great performances and writing, the artistic choices that Guadagnino made elevate Challengers and make it so much more memorable. I’m sure every review has already raved about the score, but the EDM really worked to keep the energy up throughout the movie. I really didn’t expect to like a score like that in a more dramatic movie, but it works, in part, because this movie doesn’t take itself too seriously.
There were a lot of shots that stood out in my mind, and while I didn’t love all of the cinematography choices, at least cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom took a risk. For example, I really liked the scenes from the perspective of the transparent ground, looking directly up at the players before they serve. I did like the POV from the characters as they played, as well as the POV from the tennis ball. It feels more immersive and engaging, which helped as the movie got to the final stretch. However, I was not a fan of the many, many slow-mo shots, or the sweat dripping on the camera. At first they were fine, but by the end, it was just excessive.
Besides the creativity of filming the final match, there were two moments earlier in the movie that stood out to me. On the first night that Art and Patrick met Tashi, she’s perched on a rock gazing out at Long Island Sound. Her pose reminded me of a siren; the wind was blowing in her hair and she certainly looked in control. It was probably not intentional, but the calculating and predatory nature of sirens luring men to their deaths is very fitting for her.
Fun fact: the word l’oeuf is the origin of “love” in tennis. Zero resembles the shape of an egg (l’oeuf), and also l’oeuf is pronounced similarly to “love.” This is the song playing when Tashi’s talking to the two boys by the water.
Even before that scene, when Art and Patrick are watching Tashi play at her match for the first time, the two boys turn their heads away just long enough to see her opponent, and immediately whip their heads back to see her. They quite literally could not take their eyes off of Tashi. From the very beginning, it was clear the effect that she had on both of them.
A Dynamic, Fast-Paced Story
Challengers is such a fun story, combined with great performances and memorable artistic choices. It’s the most I’ve enjoyed a movie in a really long time, and I already can’t wait to see it again. It’s such a shame that the trailers and marketing are so misleading, as there is so much more to this movie than just the love triangle. This movie is surprisingly funny and fast-paced. I’m very excited to see where Zendaya’s movie career goes beyond huge franchises such as Spider-Man and Dune, and this should be a great opportunity for Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist as well. I highly recommend this movie. I know that watching tennis can feel very static at times, but Challengers is very dynamic with its use of camera movement, angles, and music, and is well-paced enough that you won’t be bored for a second.
And, as usual, some Letterboxd reviews
