Luca Guadagnino doesn’t repeat the same trick twice. The visionary filmmaker followed up his tender yet complicated coming-of-age romance Call Me By Your Name with an austere, highly polarizing remake of Dario Argento’s classic giallo horror, Suspiria, in 2018. Guadagnino then shifted to television by creating and directing the HBO drama miniseries We Are Who We Are. He quickly made his return to film with 2022’s Bones and All, a dark cannibal romance that naturally sparked controversy. Perhaps the most unexpected thing for Guagnino to do next would be to release a true crowd-pleaser. At least, as much as an erotic thriller/sports drama hybrid could be. Luca Guadagnino’s latest feature, Challengers, pulses with energy. A love triangle where “all corners touch,” Challengers is both provocative and stressful due to its filmmaking showmanship and three knockout performances.
Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) are two tennis up-and-comers and best friends whose good-natured rivalry keeps their game sharp. Their rivalry gets more heated when they both fall head-over-heels with tennis prodigy Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). After the three share a steamy night in a hotel room, Art and Patrick compete for her affection. As she begins to date Patrick, a career-ending injury takes Tashi out of the game. Art then makes the next move by asking Tashi to be his coach, giving her the chance for an unlikely career comeback. Of course, this paves the way for their romance to blossom.
The plot of Challengers then takes a surprising turn by jumping nearly a decade later. Art and Tashi are now a power couple in the world of professional tennis. Nevertheless, Art’s fading relevance and notable losing streak puts a strain on their marriage. To get his career, not to mention their relationship, back on track, Tashi enters Art into a tennis challenger event. The catch? Art will be facing off against his former best friend who just also happens to be Tashi’s former boyfriend, Patrick. As the competition between the previous tennis champion and washed-up Patrick heats up on the court, so does their wicked game for Tashi’s love. However, one trivial question lingers in both of their minds: how much are they actually playing into a game of Tashi’s own making?
The screenplay by playwright Justin Kuritzkes and the central tennis trio are like a fine wine paired with the perfect meal. The structure of the script, set between fixed time periods in the mid-2000s and late 2010s, allows for the three protagonists to portray great change in their roles. Moreover, these are character types that any young actor in Hollywood would be chomping at the bit to play. Mike Faist (West Side Story) is overly polite as Art. He’s a very analytical player, whereas Josh O’Connor (The Crown), as Patrick, has a loose playing style. Patrick’s loose cannon technique translates to a cocky, rockstar-like demeanor off the court. They’re two sides of the same coin, which is why they’re best friends. Or, perhaps even more than that.
Director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes throw in an invigorating homoerotic element to Art and Patrick’s friendship. They are more than best friends, practically brothers. They complete each other. Yet, the two can’t stand each other. They see each other as a threat to the other’s success. That passion between them draws Art and Patrick together like magnets. Watching the movie, you often struggle to perceive if they want to choke each other out or kiss. Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, and Challengers as a whole mischievously play with this dynamic so that there’s constant tension. Whether the source of this tension comes from the game on the court, their vying for Tashi’s affection, or their unspoken lust for each other is up to the viewer.
Now, let’s talk about Tashi Duncan. Zendaya has taken on roles in the past that are well worth celebrating, like Rue in Euphoria or Chani in Dune: Part Two. However, Zendaya has never had a more clear star-making moment than in Challengers. Tashi Duncan is a true femme fatale; an alluring figure whose motives are kept in the dark. She can be the smile that lights up the room or the stare that makes blood run cold. Luca Guadagnino and Zendaya keep us at arm’s length from Tashi, never letting us fully know whether she loves Art, Patrick, or just the thrill of the game. Not until the film’s final moment do we get something approaching an answer to why Tashi is the way she is and even then, it opens up more questions than answers.
It should go without saying that Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, and Zendaya have insane chemistry. Even when the trio portray animosity toward each other, they all seem to radiate a feral attraction that keeps them coming back. This comes out in a litany of the film’s steamy scenes. While Challengers doesn’t compare to the majority of older, more salacious erotic thrillers, like those from the ‘90s, it’s still rare nowadays to see protagonists embrace and even kiss in the way they do here. Sexuality is always at the front of these characters’ actions, explicit or not. The debate over whether or not sex/romance scenes should be included in modern cinema, unfortunately, rages on, but Challengers presents a firm argument that they can be an essential part of a movie’s story and DNA.
After all, without all of that groundwork for how our trio interacts, the actual sports drama of Challengers wouldn’t be nearly as striking. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Thirteen Lives), a frequent Guadagnino collaborator, shoots the tennis scenes between Art and Patrick with extreme tenacity. Bird’s eye views, cameras mounted on tennis rackets, shots that recreate the POV of a tennis ball, and Mike Faist sweating into a camera lens so hard that it covers the whole frame are some of the ways that Mukdeeprom keeps the audience fully immersed in the drama on the court. And, of course, stolen glances between the two players charged with eroticism. All of this is edited together into a symphony of male bravado by Marco Costa. It’s as thrilling as any action sequence in the past century.
The element that truly ties Challengers together, though, is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ original score. In a scoring career that has been marked by instant classics, like the music from The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this is far and away the duo’s best work. Inspired by disco and electronica, specifically the sounds of Giorgio Moroder, the thumping beat never stops. Supplemented by violin flourishes and vocal samples, like Guagagnino with the film, Reznor and Ross break new ground for themselves in the Challengers score. Their music also makes scenes with heavy dialogue, that would otherwise be dry, just as electrifying as the competitive tennis on display.
Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers makes you want to get up and scream “Come on!” — just like Tashi Duncan does when she wins a match. Guadagnino crafts a bold and invigorating picture that will have even the most arthouse-averse moviegoers on the edge of their seats. Anchored by an acting trio giving it their all, Challengers simply makes you feel alive. Amazon MGM have tapped into something wickedly entertaining, the kind of unflinching, energetic cinema that leaves you hungry for more.
Challengers premieres in theaters on April 26!
Release Date: April 26, 2024.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Written by Justin Kuritzkes.
Executive Produced by Bernard Bellew, Lorenzo Mieli, & Kevin Ulrich.
Produced by Luca Guadagnino, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, & Zendaya.
Main Cast: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, & Jake Jensen.
Cinematographer: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom.
Composers: Trent Rezner & Atticus Ross.
Production Companies: Metro Goldwyn Mayer & Pascal Pictures.
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios.
Runtime: 131 minutes.
Rated R.