Challengers Review: This Love Triangle Is A Winner

Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic

Luca Guadagnino does not make tame movies. His latest film, Challengers, is no exception. It was highly advertised as a sexy sports movie featuring Zendaya. While it certainly is that, there is more going on in this love triangle sports drama. The love triangle between three tennis players is told through a non-linear narrative, jumping from 2019 to 2006.

In 2019, Art (Mike Faist) is a successful tennis pro but is starting to lose his edge. Tashi (Zendaya), his wife and coach, is a former tennis phenom who suffered a career-ending knee injury in college. Patrick (Josh O’Connor), is Art’s former best friend of Art and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend. Tashi attempts to revive Art’s career by enrolling him in a “challenger” tournament before the US Open and winds up facing Patrick in the tournament’s final. The film recounts the sordid and complicated relationship between the three as the match unfolds and Tashi watches intently courtside.

In 2006, Art and Patrick are teenagers about to go to college and turn pro, respectively. They are doubles partners on the junior circuit and compete against each other in singles competition. They attend the women’s final of the tournament and are both enamored with Tashi’s competitive fire, talent, and beauty. Thus begins the friendly competition between the two to win her affection.

The trailers for the film strongly hinted at a threesome scene between them in this 2006 setting, which is teased but never actually consummated. Tashi declares that she doesn’t want to be a “home wrecker” who comes between their friendship. Cleverly (in script terms), this lays the groundwork for everything that will transpire between the three of them and the twists and turns of their relationships that will consume the three of them for the next thirteen years.

Zendaya gives arguably the best performance of her career to date. Tashi is a driven athlete who thrives on competition in the sport. At a party, after she wins her matchup, she describes what being a true tennis player is, how it’s like being in a relationship with your opponent across the net, and losing yourself in a beautiful moment, like being in love.

Tashi’s career-ending injury is heartbreaking because of how well Zendaya conveys Tashi’s love for the sport and her competitive fire. It is also a pivot point in her relationship with Art and Patrick.

Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor are also terrific as friends. They have a natural rapport that feels like they have been close friends since their early days at the tennis academy they attended. This makes their inevitable falling out especially tragic, their career trajectories especially poignant, and their ultimate showdown epic, even though it plays out on the small stage of a Challengers tournament.

Outside of the three leads, it is a pretty sparse cast. Boston sports fans may recognize former Celtics trainer Brain Doo as Art’s physiotherapist, who probably gets the most screen time outside of the three leads as he sits next to Zendaya, watching Art and Patrick face off. That makes the central performances of Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor front and center, and they more than deliver.

Guadagnino also delivers, crafting a story of these three romantically intertwined athletes and making excellent use of the non-linear narrative; the story is easy to follow as it jumps back and forth. It is also a visually dazzling film, using creative shots to depict their tennis match and put the viewer in the middle of the action; at one point, the camera becomes the tennis ball being volleyed back and forth between them.

Sometimes, love triangles and infidelity in movies can feel like overkill or a token plot point; think of the Mike Nichols film Closer or throw a rock at any Woody Allen movie. This is a personal preference of mine, and Challengers approaches the line of being overkill for me in this regard but pulls things together in the end so that all of it ultimately matters.

There are almost an obsessive amount of close-ups on their faces, adding to the intimacy the film tries to convey. And the soundtrack is propulsive and immersive, really ratcheting up during the tennis scenes. And the tennis scenes are really well done, making everyone look like pros. None of them look or feel out of place on the court. The film incorporates two important callbacks in the climax of the film that really turn up the action on the court and the tension between the characters, and features a pretty thrilling and emotionally satisfying conclusion.

Luca Guadagnino’s film oozes sex appeal without being overly tawdry or racy. It features three terrific performances from three impressive young actors. It nails the sports scenes. It is inventive in its presentation. Challengers brings the energy on multiple levels, delivering one of the first undeniable film highlights of 2024.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars