(051624) Challengers is a mostly entertaining sports/romantic drama about the
tempestuous love triangle between one female and two male tennis players. The
film has an interesting and very human love story at its core. But most of the
time you get the feeling that the three main characters love the sport more than
they love each other. It also is filled exciting tennis sequences, and I liked
the film overall although am not that big of a tennis fan.
Although it is not nearly as brilliant, the film is like the “Before” film
trilogy: Before Sunrise (1995). Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013)
because it shows the characters throughout the years and captures the shifts
between their relationships. But this film covers less ground and does not
explore whole decades and only focuses on a few years in contrast to the other
film.
Challengers was made by the Italian director, Luca Guafagrri who also previously
directed three very different films. The gay melodrama Call Me by The Name
(2017), the horror/dance giallo remake Suspiria (2018), and my favorite of the
three, the cannibal film, Bones and All (2023) which had some horror elements
but it was shot like a 50s drama. Although the quality of his films has remained
high, I find it troubling that his films have become more international and less
distinctly Italian. I was not surprised to read that the director was queer
because the film has more scenes of casual male nudity (usually not in a sexual
context) and less female nudity than is usually found in mainstream American
films.
Challengers features two male lead performances by Mike Faust and Josh Conner
and they are not terribly distinctive or compelling, but the winning and
wonderful performance by rising star Zendaya (full name is Zendaya Maree
Stoermer Coleman) is the main reason for seeing the film. Zendaya also served as
co-producer in the film and she even helped scout locations for it. She recently
had back-to-back successes in both film and television, receiving two Prime Time
Best Dramatic Actress Emmys for her role on the TV show Euphoria. Genre film
fans recognize her primarily for her recurring roles as MJ (not Mary Jane) in
her three Spiderman films and in the recent two Dune movies.
The three main characters have a very messy and complicated history. When Tashi,
Art and Patrick meet they are all in their prime as tennis players. Eventually
Patrick becomes Tashi’s boyfriend but he ruins it when he makes a terrible
mistake. At one-point Tashi is wounded and severely injures her knee in a match.
But Tashi is put off when Patrick is not there for her during her injury and Art
shows he is more devoted to her and acts dutifully.
Years later the dynamic shifts totally and everyone seems like they are at the
end of their tennis careers. Tashi and Art had since married and had a child.
Because of Tashi’s injury she cannot play professionally anymore but she stays
connected to the game by becoming Art’s coach. She coaches him to success, he
becomes a champion, and he is about to retire (thirty something tennis players
usually start slowing down).
But temptation rears its ugly head. The less serious and womanizing Patrick
senses that Tashi is bored in her marriage and tries to entice her into
betraying her husband. Before a big match between the two men, Patrick tries to
get Tashi to switch sides and coach him instead of her husband. None of the
characters come off particularly morally upright in this situation except for
Art but the audience cannot be blamed for thinking that neither man is worthy of
Tashi or that perhaps she should not be tied down to any person.
Zenyatta’s character, Tashi is not above using her sexuality to manipulate
others or to help further her own ends. At one point she promises the two men
that she will sleep with which ever one wins a match and, in another scene, she
tries to get a man who likes her to throw a tennis game for her.
One of the best parts of the film is the music. The film’s memorable soundtrack
is comprised of mostly electronic music without vocals influenced by Berlin
techno and rave music. The composers, Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch
Nails previously collaborated with the same director on Bones and All and they
all work very well together. The music and visuals mesh perfectly and the
musical pieces either disrupt or propel the action in particular scenes and they
often mirror the speed and harshness of the tennis strokes.
I’ve seen Reznor and Atticus perform live twice in their band Nine Inch Nails at
two Lollapaloozas and loved them, and I also have admired their film score work
for years especially in David Fincher films such as
The Social Network
(2010),
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
(2011) and Mank (2020). Their participation (besides Zenyatta) was one of
the main reasons I wanted to see this film.
Apart from a momentary bisexual twist (at one point the two male characters kiss
and have a threesome with Zenyatta) the story itself is not particularly
special. In the hands of a lesser director this could have been as banal as a
typical Lifetime film. But the quality of the tennis scenes, the terrific, well
used soundtrack, and the fine lead female performance make the film a pleasure
even if you are not the biggest sports or romantic film fan.
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Directed by:
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Luca Guadagnino |
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Written by:
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Justin Kuritzkes |
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Starring:
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Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Michael Faust |
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Released: |
04/26/2024 (USA) |
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Rating:
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Rated R for language throughout, some sexual
content and graphic nudity |
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Available On:
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At press time playing at Chicago area theatres |
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For more
writings by Vittorio Carli go to
www.artinterviews.org and
www.chicagopoetry.org.
His latest book "Tape Worm Salad with Olive Oil for Extra Flavor" is also
available.
Mister Carli will host the program: Poetry and Film at the Back of the Yards
Branch of the Chicago Public Library on Saturday, April 13th at 3:00pm. The
public is welcome to attend this free event
Come to the New Poetry Show on the first Saturday of every month at Tangible
Books in
Bridgeport from 7-9 at 3324 South Halsted.
This is now a monthly show featuring Poetry/Spoken Word, some Music, Stand Up
and Performance Art and hosted by Mister Carli. For more information e-mail:
carlivit@gmail.com for details
Upcoming features at the Poetry Show:
June 1-Shirley Buck, Jennifer Companik, and Estenia Bunuelas
July 6-Mary Hawley and Mike Puican
August 3- Erren Kelly
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CHALLENGERS
© 2024 MGM Pictures
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2024 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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