Movie Review | 'Challengers' 

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The characters in "Challengers" have shaped their entire lives around tennis, which is the primary topic of discussion and action throughout the movie. But despite all the tennis talk, "Challengers" is not a tennis movie. First and foremost, it's a Luca Guadagnino movie — and tennis is merely the conduit for a story about relationships and power dynamics.

Guadagnino's films are sensual experiences, in all connotations of the word. He has a rare ability to make his audiences feel everything he puts on screen. From the hot Northern Italy sun in his masterpiece "Call Me by Your Name" or the windswept fields of Milan in "I am Love," Guadagnino effectively engages the senses without needing to lean on any gimmicks.

He brings that signature touch to "Challengers," a movie frequently shot in close up by his "Call Me by Your Name" and "Suspiria" cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom. Every bead of sweat falls off the screen; every scar on the characters' bodies is captured like a battle wound. While the dialogue (by screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes) crackles with precision and is delivered by the actors with bite, Guadagnino tells this story primarily through the characters' bodies and actions.

The movie is structured around a 2019 Challengers match in New Rochelle, NY. Tashi (Zendaya), a former tennis prodigy undone by an injury, is in the stands hidden behind sunglasses as she watches her husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), play Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor). As it turns out, Tashi, Art and Patrick all know each other and have for some time. "Challengers" uses the New Rochelle tournament as the showdown of over a decades' worth of shared history.


The trio knew one other as teenagers on the cusp of college. Throughout her teens and well into college, Tashi was tennis royalty who chose to attend Standford instead of pursuing professional tennis. She meets Art and Patrick at a party, where the two bumbling fellas all but kick their feet and twirl their hair when meeting Tashi. They are enamored, and would likely never admit she intimates them. Tashi begins dating Patrick, while Art is forced to wait in the wings. The thrill of "Challengers" is discovering everything that happens between the college party and the showdown tournament in New Rochelle.

"Challengers'' is Guadagnino's most visually intense movie. Gone are the languid vibes of hanging by a pool in Italy. The camera is fast and intense, which creates a dazzling — if occasionally dizzying — experience. Guadagnino isn't afraid to insert viewers into the thick of the action, which is as intense as any major studio thriller.

The kinetic camerawork is exciting, but "Challengers" wouldn't be nearly as successful if the chemistry between Zendaya, Faist and O'Connor didn't burn as brightly as it does.
As a new generation of Hollywood talent, all three actors bring depth and history to their performances.

There has been an effort to find a film project that shows Zendaya can carry a movie, and "Challengers" is finally the right fit. Given the structure of the movie, all these characters have to run a gamut of teenage curiosity to grown 30-somethings. Zendaya, O'Connor and Faist perform it with ease.

Tennis is on every character's mind in "Challengers" and, especially for Tashi, it's the only language spoken. Is tennis a passion — or a means of control and power? The tangled web of "Challengers" suggests it could be both, but from moment to moment in the narrative, it's unclear how the sport is going to be used. It makes for an exhilarating moviegoing experience.

Matt Passantino is a freelance contributor to CITY.