Just Like A Tennis Match, Challengers Keeps You On Your Toes
When superstar tennis player Tashi Duncan is injured, she turns to coaching, transforming her husband Art into a world famous tennis champion in Challengers. But after a recent losing streak, she throws him into a challenger event, one of the lowest levels on the pro tour. Tensions run high when he finds himself standing across the net from his past in the form of Patrick, his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
Just like a tennis match, Challengers keeps you on your toes. Luca Guadagnino delivers close ups of sweat and determination and ramps up the energy with fiery gameplay both on and off the tennis courts as he tells a nonlinear story. We start in modern day with 30-something year old versions of our main characters, while flashing back over the last 15 years of their lives. The back and forth of control and sensuality between Tashi, Art, and Patrick is palpable — but this is more than just a steamy love triangle. Zendaya has all the power. She is cold and in control as Tashi, but particularly shines as a younger version of the character full of bright aggression and ambition. Meanwhile, you can cut the tension between Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist with a knife. Patrick is a once-promising player who has nothing left to lose, raining chaos wherever he goes, while Art is pushing through the challenger for the sake of his marriage. From the churro scene to the sauna moment, the complex layers in their relationship are the most fascinating to follow.
A young Tashi compares the game of tennis to a relationship, almost a romance, that everyone watching gets to be a part of, while Art and Patrick develop a secret language within their gameplay. These moments are impressive set ups by Guadagnino that deliver satisfying full circle pay offs proving how history repeats itself.
While Challengers begins as a slow burn, it builds like a pressure cooker until the very last explosive moment. Zendaya brings us her most cold and calculated performance, while you won’t be able to look away from Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s sexually charged connection that blurs the boundaries of friendship. Challengers is a movie you’ll want to watch again and again to catch each carefully crafted moment.
Challengers debuts in theaters on April 26.
