Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is a new romantic sports drama that brings a fresh approach to both genres. It’s a tale of a toxic love triangle, the game of tennis, and high-stakes drama. Three characters use that love triangle throughout the film to make their decisions. You’ll ask, “Will they, won’t they?” throughout the runtime.
Zendaya plays Tashi Duncan, a former tennis player whose career was downturned after a knee injury. She now finds herself in the role of her husband Art Donaldson’s (Mike Faist) coach and has a child with him. However, her past comes back to haunt her when her ex-boyfriend and Art’s former best friend, Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), returns, reigniting a love triangle that threatens the stability of their lives. Tashi, torn between her past and present, is left grappling with her emotions, desperately wanting to move on. The actors capture their characters’ complicated relationships, jealousy, and pettiness perfectly. The film’s non-linear narrative helps reveal these relationships and shows how the past affects their present lives.
The film’s narrative is a masterful blend of suspense and tension, flashing between periods to explore Tashi’s history with both men and how she impacted their lives. The tension escalates as the story progresses, with the final tennis match serving as a backdrop to the high stakes of their intertwined lives.
The script, written by Justin Kuritzkes, is crafted like a tennis match. Art and Patrick are frenemies who play off each other exceptionally well, whether trying to one-up one another or prove why they’re worthy lovers for Tashi. They’re both morally grey, giving the audience plenty of reason to be intrigued by who’s the better boyfriend and the better friend in their friendship. While Tashi does not participate in the climactic tennis game, her influence is still enough to fuel the pair’s rivalry and affect their strategies. It’s not just about proving who the superior player is; it’s about matching Tashi’s level to impress her.
The film’s score, a masterful blend of techno and orchestral renditions, was composed by the renowned duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who previously scored Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All (2022). The score intensifies the dramatic and tennis scenes forward and adds depth to the film’s emotional hook. However, the sound mixing wasn’t always the best, so there could’ve been more good lines we could have picked up on. For instance, two characters are arguing in one scene, and while I could tell what they were talking about based on their gestures, I couldn’t hear the words coming out of their mouth due to the score drowning out the conversation. I don’t have an issue with loud music, but it happens during a significant moment in the two characters’ dynamic. It would have been better had the score not drowned out a critical dialogue moment.
Visually, the film features creative cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, who previously worked with Guadagnino on Call Me By Your Name (2017). One shot, in particular, shows the camera focused on a tennis ball during an intense match, creating a dizzy-like motion that makes you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster, literally and figuratively. Another character also begins to sweat intensely at one moment with the camera on the ground, and their sweat makes the screen foggy. These capture the impact and weight behind the scenes, showing that there is no going back.
Challengers provides compelling dynamics, allowing the audience to keep guessing and be involved in the characters’ arcs. The technical aspects were also impressive, enhancing the audience’s involvement in the story. It’s a fun, stylized movie worth the emotional journey.
Score: 82%