Challengers Review – Sensually Serving Up Triples

Passion, intensity, and eroticism await you in Challengers, the new romantic sports thriller from Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Bones and All). Justin Kuritzkes wrote the film, and Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Euphoria) stars as fictional tennis prodigy Toshi Duncan. She finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with two other tennis stars, one her husband Art Donaldson – played by Mike Faist (West Side Story, The Bikeriders) – and the other his ex-best friend Patrick Zweig, as played by Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country).

Challengers is presented non-linearly, with the main focus being a match played between Donaldson and Zweig after having a falling out, which is detailed through several flashbacks throughout. On the timeline, the film starts with the young friends winning a doubles match, and meeting Toshi for the first time. Both Art and Patrick fall for her quickly, leading to an encounter in their bedroom with the three of them. While Patrick and Toshi date through college, after a life-altering injury, they break up and Toshi goes on to coach. Eventually, Art and Toshi get together, with Toshi becoming his coach.

Challengers Approach the Net

While Challengers is centralized around the match between the two men, it’s very much Toshi’s story. Her passion never escapes her despite her injury, pivoting to coaching and trying to help her new husband, and the father of her child, to live the life she wanted for herself. What’s great is you’re never quite clear which one of the three loves whom more, but the one thing you can be sure of is that Toshi’s strongest love is tennis. All the performances are superb, but Zendaya stands out because Toshi is a much more powerful character, and she plays that perfectly. 

So much of the performance comes from Zendaya’s body language, with her eyes, the confidence with which way she walks away, and the furling of her lips. With that being said, both Faist and O’Connor are terrific too. They just play their type throughout the entirety of the film. Whereas you never quite know the extent of what Toshi is thinking. Faist is awkward and earnest as Art, whereas O’Connor deploys a sly charisma, both being exactly what they need to be to serve the story. You might dislike one or two characters throughout, but I grew to like them all by the end. 

The cinematography is brilliant. There was effort in every shot, switching angles and views to keep it interesting. For example, there are shots from the point-of-view of the players, the ball, and the net. There are also many close-ups, as well as some shots that play with the framing of the three characters. What’s important is that these shots are all purposeful. They serve to ramp up the sexual tension between the characters, and the intensity of the story, all through the framing of a game of tennis. They’re well-lit too. 

Match Point

One of the most important contributing factors to a film pulling off what it sets out to is consistency. Challengers never strays from at least being interesting, with constant attention placed on the desires of these characters, whether it’s for the game of tennis or each other. It’s the film’s main theme and never devolves from that. It is without a doubt, one of the most lustful movies I’ve ever seen, but it never feels perverse. There’s a touch of voyeurism that stems from watching these characters interact, but it’s a relationship drama through and through. 

Yet, while there are sexual scenes – and some male nudity – Challengers doesn’t stay away from more suggestive imagery. For example, two scenes feature characters eating a banana and a churro, while one character is given two tennis balls on a racket during his match, a funny metaphor for his current situation. The general imagery adds to the film tremendously, foreshadowing the end of the story, and looking rightfully gorgeous. Everything on the screen sets out to bolster the film’s main themes. 

The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network) does exactly what Challengers needs it to. It’s loud and sensual, adding extra levels to the tension between the characters. It’ll make you want to move too, making the tennis scenes a little more interesting. Yet, the sound mix can get a little distracting at times. It doesn’t happen too often and it isn’t too loud, but occasionally the music can get in the way of everything else. Overall, sound is used well in the film, especially in that one shot that only uses Faist’s and O’Connor’s grunting.

Advantage Challengers

While it does have a simple story on paper, Challengers’ non-linearity, and dedication to style keep that story riveting, and let’s face it: exciting. The dialogue helps too, keeping it charming and at times, funny. We see the jovial relationship between Art and Patrick in the scenes where they are younger, and it makes you feel terrible about their eroding relationship later on. These are interesting, dynamic characters, so you can’t help but feel for them. Even if Patrick isn’t a great guy and Art is a little milquetoast. 

Challengers might be a romantic sports drama for some, or an erotic thriller for others, but you’ll probably agree that it’s one of the best movies of the year so far. With terrific performances, an engrossing story, genius editing, a thumping soundtrack, and a sense of style that you can’t help but enjoy, Challengers is a must-watch, especially if you’re a Zendaya fan. 

You can catch Challengers when it’s served into theaters on April 26, 2024.