‘Challengers’ brings us the sensuous tennis we never knew we needed
Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino serves up yet another stellar cinematic offering with “Challengers,” an early inclusion in the year’s best films, very much in keeping with his oeuvre of heady, sensual stories with complicated characters going through a lot.The film begins with tennis star Art Donaldson (“West Side Story”’s Mike Faist) in the middle of an intense match with Patrick Zweig (“The Crown”’s Josh O’Connor). Nothing too unexpected there, except it’s revealed that we’re not in some grand slam tournament like the Australian Open or Wimbledon or Art’s coveted US Open, no—this is a challenger, Phil’s Tire Town Challenger, in fact, a minor tournament on the tennis circuit a player of Art’s stature has long outgrown. Why is he here?
The film then introduces its nonlinear structure, flashing back 13 years to when Art and Patrick were young, hot doubles partners on the junior circuit, seniors in high school. The tightest of buddies, the ambitious Patrick and the shy Art get tested when they meet Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), the most promising singles player in the women’s junior division. Both are drawn to her, and so kicks off a complicated relationship with reversals of fortune and tension and rivalry and drive and motivation, laid on a bedrock foundation of not just a tight-knit friendship but a genuine worship of the game.
Flashbacks
The flashbacks alternate with the continuation of the match, going through the lives of the three, much in the same way as two great doubles players exchanging volleys. Why is Patrick sleeping in his car, playing a challenger at this age, when he was the first to strike out as a pro when Art followed Tashi to Stanford for college? Why is Art deigning to be at this tournament? Why does it seem especially heated? How did Tashi end up as Art’s wife/coach/manager when last we saw she was in a relationship with Patrick? The tension of the match gives each flashback its nervous energy as we unwrap the events that led to this confrontation.
Written by Justin Kuritzkes and prominently featuring a threesome, there are some easy jokes to make: “Past Lives 2,” maybe (Kuritzkes is married to “Past Lives” writer/director Celine Song), or “Y Tu Tennis Tambien.” But don’t overlook that it is a very impressive first produced screenplay for Kuritzkes, with compelling characters in complex relationships. Tashi especially must’ve been a delight for Zendaya, who has mentioned a yearning to take on roles that were no longer teenagers. Guadagnino’s next film, “Queer,” an adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel, is also scripted by Kuritzkes.
Guadagnino here enlists Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the score, after their successful collaboration on “Bones And All.” What they’ve provided is a propulsive, pounding score, synths and percussion matching the tension of the game and its players, surprisingly a contender for best dance album of the year. It flouts the rules of a score: brazen, sometimes even obtrusive. It barrels in at times, charging, even in a quiet scene in a hotel bar, even when characters are whispering. It serves to remind us that even the dialogue is a match, its players lobbing barbs and challenges.
Guadagnino’s sensuous style gives us some of the most dynamic scenes of tennis ever to be captured in a movie, from ball-POV shots to under-the-court shots to gorgeous slow-motion and photogrammetry. His facility with more intimate moments extends itself to competitive sports (and even dance horror, as we’ve seen in his remake of “Suspiria”). A weaker filmmaker would’ve resorted to sports commentators overexplaining the match to the audience, but Guadagnino lets us catch up, forcing us to figure it out for ourselves, a more entertaining and rewarding experience for it. Even when Guadagnino does go over the top, it’s with panache, almost a wink to viewers.
The star trio all bring exceptional performances to the table. O’Connor’s wiry energy makes for a great bastard, channeling Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios in his playing. Faist’s shy Donaldson blooms into a confident top player, and Zendaya and her mind games are a force of nature to behold, even when she’s in denial about her own motives.
What results is a deliriously enticing concoction that delivers way more than was promised, and as mentioned, is one of the best experiences to be had at the cinemas this year.
“Challengers” is an Ayala Cinemas exclusive.
