Combining a social media frenzy and press tour for the ages (worth it for Zendaya’s tennis-based looks alone), Challengers is the film everyone is talking about. It’s only been out for three days, but already dodging spoilers on social media is a task as difficult as breaking Serena Williams’ serve, and the tennis-based puns are out of control (yes, your ‘serve’ double entendre is very clever). With that in mind, we went along to Luca Guadagnino’s (Suspiria, Call Me By Your Name) tennis-themed love triangle hit to see if it was worth the hype. Warning, spoilers ahead.
The set-up is simple and immediately engrossing. Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) is the next superstar in the making, whose inevitable rise is only stopped by a horror injury. Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) are former best friends and doubles teammates, both enamoured with Duncan. A fleeting, late-night hotel room rendezvous between all three sets the course for their careers and lives going forward.
The film cuts back and forward between the present and past: In the present, Tashi plots a route to gain grand-slam champion Art his confidence back, entering him in a small-time tournament in the hope that winning is a habit he just needs to pick up again, where Patrick – and all the built-up resentment and complexity of their history – inevitably lies in wait in the final. In the past, we see how the trifecta evolves from their days as Juniors, what tore Patrick and Art’s friendship apart, and what keeps bringing them back together.
Zendaya is great at bringing out Tashi’s steely, unrelenting determination, but it’s O’Connor as Patrick who steals the show as the perenially smirking, arrogant but directionless journeyman pro. A privileged child of wealthy parents now grinding out a living on the fringes of professional tennis, he sleeps in his car between tournaments and swipes on dating apps in the hope of finding a free bed to rest up before his matches. The one thing he does have, however, is a psychological edge over the otherwise far more successful Art, and an unbeaten record against him.
Combining frantic editing and a techno-based score, Guadagnino succeeds in turning what can often be viewed unfairly as a stuffy sport into a modern-day gladiator arena. Sweat, effort, and anxiety drip off every stroke, as the cut-throat, win-or-be-damned nature of tennis is laid bare. The film is in no mood to rush, especially in its final moments where it either drags or luxuriates depending on whether you were a fan or not – either way, it takes its time. A criticism could be its lack of depth or interest in anything beyond the main characters, but this is very much a relationship study between three competitors for whom even a conversation is not worth having if there isn’t a winner and loser at the end of it. The psychological warfare they wage – both on and off-court – against each other as they chase minor victories while absorbing major defeats is riveting viewing.
