It seems as if this is a real winner on and off the court…
Overview
RELEASE: 18 April, 2024 (Australia)
DIRECTOR: Lucas Guadagnino
WRITER: Justin Kuritzkes
CAST: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor
GENRE: Romance / sports drama
SYNOPSIS: Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy who became a coach after a career-ending injury, enlists her husband, Grand Slam-winning champion Art Donaldson, as a wild card into a Challenger event to fix his losing streak and get him to the US Open. Unknown to them, Art must face off on the court against Patrick Zweig, a down-on-his-luck player who is Art’s estranged best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
Review
There is little to no lack of intrigue and excitement within this steamy sports drama from the director of Call Me By Your Name, Lucas Guadagnino. Conveying its competitiveness and intensity through tennis-filled action scenes and compelling character moments, Challengers gives a stellar presentation of how scheming ambition and sensual desire can come at all risks of success.
Following the story of one competitive trio – Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) – in a on-and-off-court tennis match, all three main actors put their all into stellar performances. Leading lady Zendaya captures the dedicated aspiration and uncaring volatility of Tashi with all her best acting skills, showing an entirely new versatile side to her acting than seen before. She becomes the ambitious woman with an unbothered willingness to use her unapologetically vicarious tactics.
One half of the main actors, Mike Faist, also perfectly conveys the feelings and emotions of Art, who spends the story with a looming tiredness and frustration, showing someone gradually aware of how he is merely a tactic in someone’s goals. Faist’s shining moment is his climactic realisation of Tashi and Patrick’s tryst mid-match, channeling Art’s frustrations into an intense competitiveness that ups the entertainment factor of tennis. Emotionally, Faist did no wrong with portraying his character’s journey through the storyline.
And the other leading male, Josh O’Connor, completes the triple dynamic of convincing acting as Patrick. Portraying a charismatic, but simultaneously dirty-playing character must not be an easy job, but O’Connor does not go wrong with his character’s conflicting personality. The dynamic between him and Zendaya is powered by an emotionally intense relationship, leading to some of the film’s greatest moments. Overall, O’Connor makes the perfect conclusion to the manipulative and emotion-fuelled portrayals of the main trio.
The cast and crew don’t go too wrong either. Guadagnino’s direction transforms tennis from a quietly intense sport to an action-style battle of excitement, exacerbated by the motivational beat-filled soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The camera work is an adrenaline rush of back-and-forth, switching from angle transitions strong enough for whiplash and speedy POV shots from the characters of O’Connor and Faist. It can also lead to some off-guard moments that is vital to the storyline (at the risk of spoilers, a kneecap injury that is violating to visual and hearing senses, showcasing the pure brutality of it).
Screenplay writer Justin Kuritzkes manages to craft a compelling story, full of carnal desires, intense relationship dynamics and the kill-or-be-killed fight for success. The characters of Tashi Duncan and Patrick Zweig are oddly alluring with their charisma, but concurrently distrustful of their personal tactics for achievement. The character of Art Donaldson is a sympathetic one, for his genuine love and willingness to achieve success means he must sacrifice himself as the pawn in the game. The film’s conclusion is much more subversive than to the expectations, but it is done within the context that the ambiguity of it is essential to the story’s context (as success was achieved somewhat).
A story that doesn’t cease its thematic elements of desire, success, and manipulation, conveyed as a metaphor through the sport of tennis, Challengers is a movie worthy of your time this season. The lead trio gives superb performances, the production is well-crafted, and the story is intriguing. There must be some Oscars (or other awards) future for this film’s aspects……
Cinematic Dive 
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