Challengers (2024)

“Challengers” stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, Darnell Appling, AJ Lister, Nada Despotovich, Naheem Garcia, Hailey Gates, and Jake Jensen. Released on April 26, 2024, the film has the wife of a tennis champion competing against her former lover.

The film was directed by Luca Guadagnino, who also directed films such as “The Protagonists”, “I Am Love”, “Call Me by Your Name”, and “Bones and All”. When you’re a professional sports player, you always have to find ways to stay on top of your game. These struggles usually happen on the court, but on some occasions, the biggest ones can occur outside of it, especially on a personal level. The last weekend of April hopes to get the summer party train going early with a couple of selections eager to get adults back into the cinema. One of these is the latest sports drama that shows that events outside the court can be just as intense as the sport itself. Tennis could be seen as a boring sport where two players hit the ball back and forth for minutes, but the power of film usually strives to make it more exciting, with this film by acclaimed director Luca Guadagnino seeking to be another example. Was it able to score some aces in the quality department? Let’s find out.  

The story follows Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), a tennis prodigy dominating the court through her skills. During a tournament, Tashi meets and seduces two other tennis players: Art Donaldson (Faist) and his best friend Patrick Zweig (O’Connor). After a career-ending injury that forced her to retire, Tashi marries Art, now on a losing streak. As Art’s wife and coach, Tashi attempts to help her husband redeem his status by participating in a Challenger tournament in New York. However, her strategy takes a surprising turn when they encounter Patrick at the event, pitting the two former friends against each other.

Tennis isn’t usually my cup of tea, but it has maintained my interest thanks to the movies surrounding it, including “King Richard”. Of course, that’s not the only reason I looked forward to “Challengers”. One of those reasons is Zendaya, who continues to dominate the industry with her star-powered roles, including the “Dune” adaptations. Her presence usually prevails in making her movies watchable, and based on the early reviews it’s getting, the film is succeeding in maintaining her booming trend. The other is Luca Guadagnino, the director behind the movie. While I admired his unique vision, the only film I watched from Guadagnino was 2017’s “Call Me by Your Name”, which I thought was good enough to keep a close eye on his career. I also planned on seeing his previous film, “Bones and All”, but my scheduling kept me from doing so. Maybe someday I’ll check it out. So, this makes “Challengers” my second exposure to Guadagnino’s directorial vision, which promises sexual desire and drama amid the sports action.

With “Call Me By Your Name” being a warm-up to my experience with Guadagnino’s vision, “Challengers” has the filmmaker go all in with a combination of sports action and romance drama and expressing the kinetic tension of both aspects. The result is a near-perfect depiction of an unhealthy romance driven by the sport that also serves as an acting tour de force for the main leads. While the direction may depend on people’s expectations from the posters and marketing, the movie has plenty to offer, ranging from its steamy sex to the engaging tennis matches, both of which serve a story’s purpose instead of being excuses for its two-hour-plus runtime. For the sex scenes, it’s easy to argue its necessity to slow a film down to showcase characters making love for all you naughty folks. Some cases prove their importance and others…well, they’re just there to grab people’s attention. “Challengers” is an example of the former, in which they drive a complex love triangle affecting the characters’ mentality in their tennis careers and friendship through its nonlinear narrative.

Having a story depicted in nonlinear flashbacks helps the film maintain the consistency of the drama between the three tennis players and its pacing. The movie's primary focus is the final match between Art and Patrick, but it also depicts how they got to this position through flashbacks from their college days to the 2019 Challenger event in New Rochelle. Through Guadagnino’s vision and Justin Kuritzkes’s screenplay, “Challengers” provides a captivating and stylishly grounded outlook of a romantic relationship turned sour and a desire to be on top, affecting the friendship between Art and Patrick and their careers. Some people may point out that it’s another scenario where those desires get physical or worse. However, that isn’t the case. Writer Justin Kuritzkes bypassed those traditional elements in favor of a realistic and dramatic approach to the topics. It might not be as exciting as the other romance thrillers it’s seemingly copying, but the film compensates with a gripping and often refreshing narrative that refuses to throw in the towel.

As for Guadagnino, I was impressed with his approach to its storytelling and technical aspects. The cinematography from Sayombhu Mukdeeprom was a brilliant display of immersion and visual finesse, and the editing was packed with energy without being an eyesore. The director also had a specific balance of suspense and drama that was neither overpowering nor dull. He keeps the melodrama at a minimum while ensuring the down-to-earth conversations and emotions remain interesting. It’s pretty challenging to accomplish without putting the audience to sleep, but Guadagnino found a way to make it work, and I must say, it was a satisfying treat to endure. Another example I’d point out is the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who previously worked with Guadagnino on “Bones and All”. Reznor and Ross have crafted another fascinating piece of cinematic music that heightens the drama and tennis sequences through its techno-esque tunes. While there are a couple of moments where the score was unwarranted, it’s still a splendid piece to listen to if you’re in the mood to get yourself excited for a sporting event.

As mentioned earlier, “Challengers” is a spectacular display of the talent involved, with the three main leads being the driving force of the experience. With this film and “Dune Part Two”, I will be the next person to say this might be another successful year for Zendaya. Her portrayal of Tashi has the actress volleying between feistiness and intricacy throughout her performance, with neither one fumbling once throughout its runtime. It’s uncertain whether it’s my favorite performance from Zendaya, but I will say that she remains on top of her acting game regarding her filmography. Josh O’Connor was also great as Patrick, a former friend willing to turn his tennis career around, similar to Art. I would also credit Mike Faist for keeping his career alive following his first major role in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”, thanks to his magnetic portrayal of Art. It would be interesting to see if he’ll keep the streak going with the upcoming “Bikeriders”.

Overall, “Challengers” is a near-perfect match that volleys between captivating romance and thrilling sports action with style and momentum. It might not please everyone with its approach to the narrative. However, it’s still a well-made and cleverly engrossing sports movie that shows that even the intense matches lie beyond the court. The main leads were terrific in their roles, Guadagnino provided a stylistic flair to the drama and tennis sequences, and the screenplay succeeded in balancing its conventional beats with complexity and realism. I also really enjoyed Reznor and Ross’s score, even though some scenes could’ve been better without it. It’s far from my favorite film of the year, but it’s another cinematic piece that made me rethink my perspective on tennis.

A-