Challengers

Starring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor, Naheem Garcia, Jake Jensen
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sport
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three tennis pros (Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor) have a long, complicated history and their relationships are tested during a Challenger tennis tournament.

Review:

Tim: I loved director Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, but I admit, I haven't seen any of his work since that incredible film. I finally caught Challengers, and it's inspiring me to seek out more of the director's films. Now, to be fair, this film doesn't reach the heights of CMBYN, but it's a thoroughly engrossing, mature film that looks at adult relationships and the messiness that often comes with them. It's dramatic, romantic, surprising, and effective. This might not be quite strong enough to be one of the best films of 2024, but it's one of the more memorable ones.

The film is almost exclusively focused on the three main characters, and their love and friendship triangle. I honestly can't remember anyone else having any sort of actual presence in the film. The movie starts with two best friends who fall in love with a rising tennis star. Their relationships- both romantically and platonically, spin and spiral and shift in a dramatic opera of human emotions. These three characters aren't presented without flaws- these are human beings, filled with complexity, incongruities, foibles, mistakes. It's a fascinating portrayal of three different people who have perhaps too much in common. This is really the chief reason to see this movie- it's a study in humanity.

The movie also happens to be a fairly effective tennis movie. There's not a lot of great tennis movies, but this is one of the better ones. I loved how Guadagnino filmed the tennis scenes- the use of music, the framing and cinematography here- the tennis matches feel like true battles- not just a sport, but war waged against your opponent. Some of the shots are innovative- the scenes of the perspective of the tennis ball are impossible to forget. Guadagnino ramps up the intensity of these sequences. It feels like we don't just watch people playing tennis, but every match reveals something about their character or furthers their own narratives. I was riveted during these sequences.

Guadagnino always seems to allow ample space for his cast to showcase their talent and that happens again here. I think I always undervalue Zendaya. She seems like a good actress, yes, but in films like this, her talent is beyond my evaluation of her. Her performance has moments that don't work, but she can be spellbinding at times. It was fascinating to see her in this mature work. She gives an especially strong performance. Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor were so interesting. I don't think I actually like either actor at this point in time- however, I acknowledge they gave exceptional performances here. Their characters aren't exactly likable- they wear their flaws too proudly, too visibly for us to care deeply about them. But, while I might not have felt a deep emotional connection with any of the characters, I was still fascinated by them. Faist and O'Connor carry the movie and have to do so much- to portray these characters are multiple points in time, where their personalities might be the same, but they have changed, evolved. This is not easy to do- so many actors give performances where they feel like the characters they play are stuck in time. They might be younger, then older, but are basically the same. Faist and O'Connor seem to channel from the script the evolution of these characters- life happens to them, and they are not the same. Not an easy feat. Zendaya accomplishes this, too. When I think about why this movie is so good, Zendaya, Faist, and O'Connor are a major reason why.

I thoroughly enjoyed Challengers and I have only a few faults with the film. It might be a hair too long, at 2 hours 11 minutes. I do wish I felt more of a powerful connection to any of the characters- I was intrigued by them, but never really cared about them. I actually really enjoyed the ending- it's ambiguous, perhaps a tad unsatisfying, but felt wholly appropriate for what the movie wanted to be. Interesting, it seems like some critics agreed with me- this movie got great reviews, but I find it interesting that it received no Academy Award nominations. I might be able to argue for one or two, but it feels appropriate that it's a very good movie, but not powerful enough to be included among the year's best. Still, Luca Guadagnino has now delivered at least two powerful human dramas, and I likely need to do a better job of searching out his other work. As for this film, Challengers is one of the better tennis movies out there and a film I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Wimbledon, Call Me By Your Name, Malcolm & Marie, The Bikeriders