Originally scheduled for release last September, Luca Guadagnino's latest film, Challengers, was delayed due to the SAG/AFTRA strikes and finally makes it's debut in theaters this week. So, the predominant question I had going into this movie was if it was going to have been worth the wait, especially after having seen the trailers for months by this point. I am relieved to say that it absolutely was.
Tashi Duncan (played by Zendaya) was a promising Tennis prodigy when she suffered a career ending knee injury and instead turned to coaching Art Donaldson (played by Mike Faist), who is also her husband and father to their little daughter. Art is in a slump losing match after match and in an effort to try and get his confidence up, Tashi gets him in as a wild card at a Challenger match where he finds himself going up against his former friend Patrick Zweig (played by Josh O'Connor). When they were younger, Art and Patrick were best friends and competing together through the Tennis circuit when they both met Tashi. Equally enamored with her, both boys are vying for her attention when she visits their hotel room that night. As the years pass and each character reflects on their past in this unique love triangle it all leads to this critical match where all three find all their past choices coming to a head and discover if their friendship can even be salvaged.
The film was directed by Luca Guadagnino from a script by Justin Kuritzkes. As I watched the film, I was increasingly glad I was seeing it in the theater where it would have my undivided attention since the film adopts a very non-linear timeline as it starts in the present and then has flashbacks to various other points in the three leads lives, back to the present and then another flashback. It's an effective way to tell the story as the interpersonal interactions with Tashi, Art and Patrick over the years are revealed. Guadagnino does a great job differentiating the different time periods and times with subtitles documenting the time period. It was initially challenging but soon I was able to settle into the unique groove of the film. When it comes to the tennis matches, Guadagnino and Director of Photography Sayombhu Mukdeeprom do a fantastic job of crafting tense and thrilling tennis matches, including the big match between Art and Patrick that runs through much out the film and builds to a genuinely tense climax.
The three central performances in the film are quite strong. Zendaya gives some wonderful layers to Tashi Duncan, who is someone who had to reinvent herself after a career ending injury and find a new way forward in life when the one she thought she was going to have was snatched away. She gives a very compelling performance, capturing Tashi's intelligence and drive, but also her impulsiveness, especially when it comes to her relationships with Art and Patrick. Mike Faist tackles his role as Art quite well, conveying his character at various stages in his career, from young upstart to someone who is anxious to retire. He does a great job capturing Art's frustration when he gets into his slump especially, with the frustration that comes with it resonating really well with me. Josh O'Connor is equally compelling as Patrick, whose Tennis career hasn't turned out as well as Art's, barely scraping by and sleeping in his car when he has to travel to meets since he's not even able to afford a room at a dingy motel. This, of course, is what is driving him throughout the epic rematch with Art as the two work out years and years of feelings on the tennis court.
I was really impressed with Challengers, with three compelling characters acted beautifully by three very talented actors making for some riveting drama that had my attention from beginning to end. It's also one that you need to watch without distractions due to the non-linear storytelling, but if you can keep up with it, it's a good one that I look forward to watching again.
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