Review: Challengers

Luxury brands abound in Challengers, from $200 Augustinus Bader body cream to $900 Chanel espadrilles, but its most thematically weighted object might be the Cartier Love bracelet. Since the exorbitantly priced bangle has to be put on (or removed) with the help of a partner using a screwdriver, Harper’s Bazaar calls it “the ultimate luxury symbol for a committed relationship.” Given all the sexual drama in Luca Guadagnino’s mildly freaky, frisky little movie about a love triangle between three tennis players, it’s just one more wink in a film that is full of flirtations — or two, if you count the allusion to the tennis score in the bracelet’s name.

Challengers volleys back and forth in time, centering on what should be a low-stakes tennis match in 2019 and the relationship history between its three central characters that began 13 years earlier. Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) needs a confidence boost before the 2019 US Open, the only Grand Slam tournament that the decorated athlete hasn’t won. His wife and coach, Tashi (Zendaya), signs him up for a small-time tournament in New Rochelle, New York, which he’s sure to win. Except that Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), his longtime rival and former doubles partner — on and off the court — is also slated to play, raising the stakes for all three, especially since he was the first one to date Tashi.

Zendaya’s Tashi is marvelously spiteful, strategic, and a real win for the actress. Sidelined from her own superstar tennis career by injury (a scene second only in brutality to Suspiria’s bone-breaking sequence in Guadagnino’s work), Tashi fuels all her competitive energy into her husband’s athletic performance. “Decimate that little bitch,” she growls as she watches him play her ex. She takes a hard-hitting approach, refusing to hold back on criticism and willing to do whatever it takes to help him win — even if Art isn’t so desirous of victory himself. 

Meanwhile, Patrick is desperate and has far more to lose. It’s not just that he wants to one-up his more successful one-time friend on the court: he’s currently sleeping in his car and needs the money to survive. Conversely, the $7,200 first-place prize doesn’t mean much to Art and Tashi, who not only have won much bigger purses but also have product sponsorship deals that splash their images across billboards and buildings. O’Connor relishes playing Patrick, a real piece of shit who smiles as he tries to scheme his way to victory in tennis and life, but none of these characters are to be admired for their off-the-court behavior, which is part of what makes Challengers such a good time.

(Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures)

Though these three are just teenagers in the earliest scenes in the timeline at the US Open Junior Championships, Challengers is definitely made for grownups. Yet that’s not to say this is a serious, dour affair; Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes have crafted a playful picture, full of thrills, delicious fun, and as much sun as Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash and as much sex as Call Me by Your Name. However, viewers don’t have to act like adults while they’re watching; the sexual antics and innuendos onscreen sent our preview audience tittering. No one has enjoyed a churro more in this history of cinema than what you’ll witness in Challengers, and it’ll leave you both giggly and hungry. 

Challengers manages to be sweaty and sexy without having a ton of actual sex (though it does boast more full-frontal male nudity than you’ll see in most American films). Part of the credit goes to the chemistry of the three leads in all their various permutations, as well as all the extreme close-ups chosen by Guadagnino and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria, Call Me by Your Name). The camera captures every pore and drop of perspiration, and we’re so close that we start to breathe heavily in sync with the athletes on screen. You can confidently tell your Apple Watch that you’re starting a workout when the production logos show up; Challengers’ intensity will make you earn those active calories. During tennis matches, the camera bounces back and forth across the court along with the ball, until, in its climatic sequence, it takes the ball’s perspective. These sequences should probably come with a disclaimer for nausea and dizziness, but they sure are exhilarating

The high level of vigor also arrives from the techno score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. If you had managed to forget that Reznor was the frontman of Nine Inch Nails who wrote “Closer,” these pulsing, pounding beats will serve as a reminder. A contender for my favorite score in years, the music is marvelously different from anything else you’ve heard on screen recently and is a real force in driving the action. 

Challengers is a heady mix of sex, sweat, and power plays, the exact type of movie we’d hope for from Guadagnino. There are plenty of pleasures to be had, not just for these characters, but for the audience too. Challengers runs over two hours long — still shorter than most Grand Slam matches — but it flies by with the propulsive energy of a killer serve. 

“Challengers” is in theaters Friday.

Kimber Myers is a freelance film and TV critic for 'The Los Angeles Times' and other outlets. Her day job is at a tech company in their content studio, and she has also worked at several entertainment-focused startups, building media partnerships, developing content marketing strategies, and arguing for consistent use of the serial comma in push notification copy.

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