CHALLENGERS Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Luca Guaganigmo
Stars: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor.
Italian filmmaker Luca Guaganigmo doesn’t repeat himself, but most of his films deal with connections. Whether it be the relationship between Elio and Oliver in the gay themed Call Me By Your Name, the various characters in the sundrenched setting of A Bigger Splash or even the teen cannibals on the run in Bones And All, his films explore the complicated nature of relationships. And connection is at the heart of his latest film Challengers, which explores a romantic triangle set against the backdrop of the world of tennis.
It is 2019. Tashi Duncan (played by Zendaya, from the sci-fi epic Dune, etc) is a talented former tennis champion whose career ended following an injury. Obsessed with the sport she has turned coach and has just the single client – her husband Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, from West Side Story, etc). But he is currently experiencing something of a losing streak and is consumed by self-doubts. He is slipping in the ATP ratings and is considering quitting the tennis circuit altogether. Tashi tries to rebuild his confidence by entering him into a challenge tournament in New Rochelle, a small town in upstate New York. She expects an easy victory that will set him up for the next major tournament.
But things take an unexpected turn when Art ends up competing against his childhood friend and former junior doubles partner Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor, also currently starring in the offbeat La Chimera, etc). The pair share a long history together, and both have a personal relationship with Tashi. They first met at a tennis tournament as teenagers when the two boys flirted with Tashi. For a while Patrick dated Tashi, but following an acrimonious split she married Art. Patrick has seemingly fallen on hard times – he sleeps in his car and is desperate in his need to achieve success in this tournament. The two former friends are now rivals, not only on the court but in their affection for Tashi.
The stakes are high, the tension between the three is palpable, and their past rivalries and resentments and regrets all play out against the backdrop of the tennis final as Tashi watches from the stands. The tennis match itself becomes an extended metaphor for the relationship between the two men and Tashi, and there is an enormous undercurrent of eroticism here that shapes the relationship between the three.
The script from Guaganigmo and first-time feature writer Justin Kuritzes employs a nonlinear structure as it jumps back and forth in time. The film spans some thirteen years, from the first meeting of the three as horny young teenagers to the climactic tennis match that has so much riding on the outcome. This at times gives the material a slightly disjointed feel. Challengers is also darker in tone to the 2004 romantic comedy Wimbledon, which was also set against the backdrop of the sport of tennis.
Challengers features many of Guaganigmo’s idiosyncratic and stylish directorial flourishes, particularly as he and his regular cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom use some inventive camera angles, point of view shots and handheld cameras to capture the energy of the tennis match itself. This visceral and highly cinematic approach puts us in the middle of the match. The soundscape also captures the intensity of the match – the grunts and groans of the players, the sound of racquets hitting balls, the noise from the crowd all brings the match alive. Marco Costa’s sharp editing is also superb. Mukdeeprom’s camera also gazes longingly at the sweaty semi-naked bodies of the characters as they face off across the net giving the film an almost homoerotic feel.
However, the propulsive techno score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (who have worked with David Fincher on several movies) is at times obtrusive and overbearing, particularly in several scenes where it overwhelms the dialogue. But it also serves to underscore the shifting power dynamics in the relationship between the three.
The chemistry between the three leads is palpable and they ooze a raw carnality. Faist has a boyish quality and brings emotional heft to his role as the clean-cut Art, who has lost his edge and his passion for the game. O’Connor has an irresistible charm as the seedy but somehow still charming “bad boy” Patrick who has fallen on hard times. He brings a certain swagger to his role. And Zendaya brings strength, confidence and an effortless sexy quality to her role as the manipulative Tashi who easily plays the two men off against one another.
Erotically charged and crackling with energy Challengers is, arguably, Guaganigmo’s most accessible film to date.
★★★☆
