Films and movies often operate on different planes of existence. Some films feel like homework. Some take you to distant lands and shine a light on different cultures. Some intimately expose the human condition. But movies? Well, my favorite kind of movies thrive on pure adrenaline, action and sexual excitement. Who doesn’t love looking at beautifully lit, sun-dappled faces in a 24-frames-per-second dreamscape? I think of Against All Odds, for example, with Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward never looking sexier. Terrible film, but a great movie. Same goes for Showgirls or Valley Of The Dolls. On the flip side, My Dinner With Andre could be considered a terrible movie but a great film.
Enter Challengers, the latest from Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) and first-time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to shift the paradigm by being both a great film and a great movie. One could easily look at it as a small character study or a traditional sports drama, but you also wouldn’t be wrong if you saw it as a supremely thrilling, sexually charged study in pure star magnetism.
Set in 2019 in the world of tennis, Challengers stars Zendaya (Dune) as Tashi Donaldson, a pro turned coach whose husband Art (Mike Faist from West Side Story) faces off against Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor from The Crown) as the story begins. The filmmakers show their audacity instantly by introducing footage of this match even before the MGM logo appears. Utilizing frequent flashbacks at finely calibrated moments, we learn how the trio came to know each other. Each revelation raises the stakes and deepens our understanding of the dynamics at play. I won’t get into plot details further as it would spoil the deliciousness in how each bit of information tells us more and more about the characters.
Here we have a film less about the specifics of a tennis match, however gloriously the sport gets framed by Guadagnino’s frequent collaborator, cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, and more about the sheer delight of sexual chemistry and how assertiveness enhances it. Yes, those matches get dutch angles, swooping drone shots and tennis balls whooshing right into the lens, but that’s nothing compared to the confidence Zendaya brings to her character. I’d call this a star-making performance, but who are we kidding? Zendaya is already a star, with Euphoria proving her to be a world class actor. Here, however, she crackles with a heretofore unseen screen idol energy, blazing through scene after scene.
Although essentially a love triangle at its core, it’s anything but equilateral. The way Zendaya dominates the two men proves that. With Art as the sensitive, shy type and Patrick the outgoing bad boy, they’re both putty in Tashi’s hands. In one standout scene, she sits back and watches them grow closer. The expression on her face along with the high angle makes the moment indelible. We experience the relationships in all their permutations, pairs and triples, giving us a full picture of the ever-deepening connections, culminating in an all-timer ending that’s thrilling, hilarious, satisfying yet ambiguous. One could easily think of this as a gay film or interpret it as straight or perhaps bisexual. Regardless, most people will need a shower afterwards.
O’Connor and Faist excel here with an explosive chemistry of their own, whether nimbly playing teenagers or grown men. When one thinks of formative years, you’ll see it playing out on their open faces and youthful giggles. In a film which puts arousal front and center, the two men can’t contain it, whereas Zendaya’s Tashi delights in causing and/or instigating it. Guadagnino makes sure the audience is in on the fun with copious nudity, crotch shots, butt shots and Zendaya wowing us in fashion designer J.W. Anderson’s super seductive outfits. No matter your sexual orientation, you’re gonna walk out of this film feeling mentally stimulated as well as all kinds of hot and bothered.
This film click-click-clicks with energy and proudly wears its bonkers tone on its sleeve. With three great performances, crisp writing and direction, credit also goes to editor Marco Costa, who ensures we don’t experience a boring second while masterfully jumping from one timeline to the other. Also, it’s impossible to watch Challengers without noticing the fantastic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. This propulsive, synth-heavy music comes in frequently, sometimes competing with dialogue, but always to emphasize the carnality. It makes the movie pop. I dubbed one recurring cue the “I Feel Love (The Horny Boner Edition) ft. Giorgio Moroder” and couldn’t stop cackling every time it made an appearance. This could have easily veered off into high camp were it not for its adult themes and vivid acting.
At times the film reminded me of Personal Best, the great screenwriter Robert Towne’s 1982 directorial debut. Both share a love of faces and bodies and an otherworldly way of presenting them. But, in truth, I’ve never seen a film quite like Challengers, existing somewhere in between a movie and a film. It’s one of a kind, nutty, exciting, and easily one of the best of 2024.
By Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic
Challengers opens wide in theaters on April 26th, 2024
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