Challengers
Rating
Director
Luca Guadagnino
Screenplay
Justin Kuritzkes
Length
2h 11m
Starring
Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, Zendaya, Darnell Appling
MPAA Rating
R
Original Preview
Review
Interpersonal drama on the tennis court shows the extent to which Challengers tries to twist the narrative threads into a constantly shifting power play between three unlikely competitors.
The film opens as two rival tennis players, Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), try to win the last tournament they need to secure their livelihoods. Art wants to make his comeback successful while Patrick merely wants to win a purse to give him the money to survive. Their intense rivalry has roots much earlier in their careers but to get there, the narrative shifts through time explaining various altercations and putting them in a historical framework while building up to their final showdown.
At the crux of their history is former tennis pro Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) who forms a quixotic bond between them as both men try to win her affections. Her own motives are colored by the sudden injury that ruins her chance at playing pro. Instead, she spends her time coaching Art whose ego has outgrown his talent, building on an aggressive persona that has lost him the favor of tennis fans and has endangered his own success. Tashi has grown weary and a chance meeting with Patrick leads to a secret relationship that helps to develop his potential. All of these machinations are in spite of the underlying homoerotic tension between Patrick and Art.
Director Luca Guadagnino has some skill at pulling great performances out of his actors. Faist, O’Connor, and Zendaya are all strong. They were already skilled talents but this showcases their abilities on a more intimate scale. Had the film not felt disjointed at times, it might have been more enticing. Kuritzkes’ screenplay is part of the issue, the narrative struggles at times to convey its information, especially about who should be in control of a given scene. Guadagnino smooths over some of those rough edges but the narrative beats of the past don’t always line up with the present and while that generates an air of mystery, it doesn’t lend itself well to understanding.
The tension of the tennis scenes elevates much of the piece with strong editing by Marco Costa. The problem is that Guadganino meddles with the pacing of the match, which creates a jarring effect. Then there is the gimmick of positioning the camera on the ball itself. While the effect it creates is intriguing, inconsistent usage pulls the viewer out of the scene at the worst moments.
Challengers brings together a lot of talent and much of that is allowed to shine but with a few choppy moments and confusing narrative direction, the end result lacks the greatness we came to expect from the Call Me by Your Name team.
Review Written
April 22, 2052
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