Challengers (Film Review)

When a doubles match introduces a third player, you can expect things to get messy and complicated on the court. Luca Guadagnino unapologetically fills his latest movie, Challengers, with drama and sexually tense tennis matches. And, most importantly, this film gives us a grand slam of masterful performances — showing the unraveling of three decades-long relationships.

If you watch the viral trailers for Challengers, filled with make-out sessions and attractive topless people, you may think this film focuses on hot throuples first and foremost. Well, prepare to be pleasantly surprised at how much is on offer here. While Challengers does have plenty of sexy cinematography as we watch balls fly to perfectly timed club beats, this movie is about co-dependency and the complexity of long-term relationships. By the time the credits start to roll, you may have the urge to take up tennis. But, ultimately, you’ll remember the spiderweb romances in this story over every court game.

Written by Justin Kuritzkes, Challengers follows the relationship between tennis players Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Tashi used to be tennis’s “it girl” and has always had the two men fighting for her affection. But after an injury tragically ends Tashi’s career, she begins coaching Art. At the movie’s start, we soon realize that Art’s career and marriage intertwine with Tashi’s dreams and regrets.

However, Art is on a losing streak and is ready to retire – pushing their relationship into turmoil and causing Tashi to sign up Art for a Challengers tournament outside of the big leagues as a way to get her husband back on a winning kick. But things get complicated once it’s revealed that Art is facing his longtime best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend, Patrick. Through brightly lit flashback scenes that pop up throughout the course of Patrick and Art’s final match, we see pain, moments of comfort, and some spicy betrayal, too.

Kuritzkes does an amazing job with his story beats here, as every flashback is perfectly timed to make the tennis match in the present more intense and filled with more underlying conflict between the men as the game turns into a full-out duel for Tashi’s attention. However, what truly makes Challengers shine is the performances. Zendaya undoubtedly delivers the best performance of her career as the cold Tashi chasing her stolen tennis dreams. Similarly, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s raw interactions and on-screen chemistry make each relationship revelation hit like a gut punch.

It’s a pity that Challengers’ length occasionally minuses the intensity of these actors’ triumphs. The film does, unfortunately, drag at points. While an exciting style choice, the use of slow motion in Art and Patrick’s match tends to overstay its welcome. The invasive moments get in the way of climactic scenes and bring down the pacing of the movie. There’s also a few overindulgent shots of characters that stand out because the rest of the film is so compelling. These beats, while few and far between, do work to hold the movie back from being truly outstanding.

However, while Challengers has a few hiccups, the film serves and is one of the best, movies I’ve seen in 2024. Not only does it highlight the talented powerhouse that is Zendaya, but its story will keep you hooked, make you emotional, and finally, create an urge to watch Wimbledon this year.

Challengers will be released in cinemas on April 26, 2024.