CHALLENGERS (AMAZON PRIME) (2024)

SYNOPSIS: Follows three players who knew each other when they were teenagers as they compete in a tennis tournament to be the world-famous grand slam winner, and reignite old rivalries on and off the court.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Watching a Luca Guadagnino movie can be both a rewarding and frustrating experience. While not known for having a specific style, the Italian auteur is known for Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All. And for his latest outing, he is all of a sudden helming a sports romance drama if you can call it that.

The narrative of Challengers is presented in a non-linear format, skipping back and forth between the present and years earlier making it somewhat a “challenge” to sit through. The three main characters look somewhat the same over the decades which makes it a bit hard to differentiate unless you are paying full attention to the details.

It’s hard to narrow down the central theme here. The script by Justin Kuritzkes can be probably be summarised as a study on complicated interpersonal human relationships as say a movie on competitive tennis or romance.

Best friends Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) has been playing tennis for the longest time until they meet a rising tennis superstar, Tashi (Zendaya). Both guys sort of fall in love with Tashi but Art finally gets his girl and Tashi went on to become his coach, manager, wife and mother of their young daughter. Patrick on the other hand ends up homeless and has to play some cheap matches to keep his finances alive. There’s even a hint of homoeroticism between Patrick and Art that is mostly forgotten until the movie’s climax.

Believe it or not, there is no specific storyline here and what the audiences have is a sexually charged movie about one woman and two guys. It’s a complicated three-way relationship where lies, manipulation, betrays took place. Tashi seems to be still in love with Patrick despite their constant disagreements while Art is fast losing his appeal in tennis. It’s not exactly an erotic movie either despite the rating. The touted threesome is not an expected Wild Things copycat and the nudity factor applies entirely somewhere else.

Tennis lovers will still find something to like in Challengers as the matches are wonderfully choreographed like a real sweaty exhausting Wimbledon match. Meanwhile, the stylishly composed soundtrack from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is honestly far more intense than the onscreen happenings.

The cast looks great especially Zendaya although she is much more convincing in Euphoria. No doubt Challengers is a beautiful, sexily assembled movie set in the world of tennis. A Luca Guadagnino movie is never that accessible to the general audiences, the abrupt ending of Challengers only add to the list. Still, it’s a watchable piece in the comfort of your home.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee