Film Review - Challengers
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Australia.
Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers is a sexy sideswipe of a film, and a searing return to cinema following Bones and All. Challengers follows the intertwined lives of tennis coach Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), Grand Slam star Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and competitor Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor). Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s cinematography is a visual punch-up, driven by his ability to transform dull, brand-saturated tennis courts into avant-garde backdrops for Faist and O’Connor’s mercurial performances. The well-trodden romance plot of this 2h11m feature subverts the predictability of Blonde Guy vs. Brunette Guy, opting to centralise Tashi’s perspective instead of subjecting the audience to another Twilight-esque Jacob vs. Edward debate.
The depth of Patrick and Art’s relationship is filled out in murky detail, as Guadagnino fragments the timeline of their tumultuous codependency. The past is depicted using grainy film stock, outdated phones and kitsch 2000’s era clothing choices, rendered with a nostalgia that doesn’t overpower the importance of the character dynamics. One scene mirrors a shot in Call Me By Your Name, concreting Guadagnino’s distinct directorial style through self-reflexive media references.
Challengers represents the self-obsessed necessity of an athlete’s lifestyle as both a luxury and a restrictive regiment. This schism is best displayed through Zendaya’s incredible performance, whose stone-faced indifference separates older Tashi from the headstrong athlete she once was. Art, Patrick and Tashi epitomise the triangulation of desire, as they try to impress one another in an ongoing battle of one upmanship. Art lacks the confidence to win his final grand slam, Patrick’s ego undermines his ability to improve, and Tashi’s dissatisfaction with her own choices permeate every nuanced interaction within Challengers.
The sound design is the unsung hero of this film, with persistent eighties synth tracks fighting against the violent slam of tennis racquets breaking. There are no smooth fade outs or sentimental song choices in this film. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scored Challengers like a horror movie, malevolence and unsettling leitmotifs hammering away behind the quiet dialogue. Writer Justin Kuritzkes refuses to platform soliloquies or introspective comments, instead depicting characters through intimate close ups and stark framing. In one match, Patrick and Art’s face-off is shown through shaky first-person perspective camerawork, immersing the viewer in the simmering tension of their connection.
Edouard Glissant said that ‘we understand the world better if we tremble with it’, and Challengers exemplifies this concept through its deliciously unpredictable editing. Challengers has the self-assured swagger needed to poke and prod at the boundaries of situations many other filmmakers would leave untouched. Guadagnino has served up a smash hit, and it’s up to audiences to decide what to do now that the ball is in their court.
Follow Isobel on Instagram.
Challengers is screening in cinemas from Thursday the 18th of April. For tickets and more info, click here.