The delayed release of Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, Challengers, appears to have been worth the wait. A combination of tennis, complex personal relationships, and psychological manipulation, the movie stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach, whose husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), is struggling with confidence and performance issues. To boost his morale before the US Open, Tashi enters Art into a low-profile Challenger tournament. However, Art’s opponent in the tournament is Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), his once-best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
Challengers’ script, by playwright and novelist Justin Kuritzkes, features skillful structure and storytelling. The movie begins with the Challenger tournament and then provides a flashback to how the characters initially met as teens. Information about their time between meeting and the tournament is slowly revealed. The screenplay resembles a tennis match, with viewers’ sympathies moving back and forth between the characters as the story unfolds both on and off the court.
The superb performances are by the three leads, and the chemistry between them is off the charts. Zendaya delivers an outstanding performance that expresses her character’s angry frustration at her prematurely-ended career due to an injury. O’Connor and Faist also give credible performances. If there is a weakness in the movie, it’s that the script does not explore their feelings for each other explicitly, leaving them only as an underlying suggestion.
The Commendable cinematography in Challengers comes from Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s work, and extra praise goes to the make-up department for the expertly executed perspiration, which makes this one of the sweatier movies ever made. Finally, the Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross- crafted synth score adds the right amount of tension to the movie. Overall, Challengers is a genuine delight, and Guadagnino deserves applause for his work
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