Luca Guadagnino. Challengers
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
From April 26th, 2024
Do we cling to youth, do we long for glory? Or do we seek a different glory, melting into the daily life of family?
Zendaya is Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach. A force of nature who admits no mistakes, both on and off the court. Married to a former Grand Slam tournament champion coming off a string of defeats, Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he is forced to enter a challenger where he must face on the court Patrick (Josh O’Connor), once his best friend and the ex-boyfriend of his wife. As past and present collide and tension mounts against the backdrop of Back Bay, in Boston, Tashi must wonder what the price of victory is, catalyzing a magnificently complex love triangle. Luca Guadagnino’s new queer romance, Challengers, is a hyperkinetic film accompanied by the sounds of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that marks the debut of Jonathan Anderson as costume designer.
“It’s a modern and powerful story, suffused with the energy of youth, love, and the power of self.”
Patrick has fallen into disgrace, sleeping in his car and competing in the cheaper circuits, but he still has talent. Perhaps by defeating Art (Mike Faist), he will impress Tashi – whom he is still deeply in love with – or perhaps not. The course of their love triangle and all its painful and fateful arguments and moments of infidelity are skillfully outlined in a series of flashbacks and flashforwards, of past lives revealed by sudden changes in hairstyle, clothing, personality, preferences, along with the passing of time. The tennis itself is almost theatrical, dramatic.
“Zendaya, Josh, and Mike are completely new and original in bringing to the screen an aura that has never been seen in their performances before”.
Challengers, like its characters, transforms tennis into a tunnel vision, focusing our gaze and attention on what’s directly in front of us, losing sight of what’s around and in the background. As Art’s coach, Tashi is determined to achieve success and needs all her grit and intelligence to guide him. Faist is charming, but his inability to manage his impulses gives way to a melancholic awareness of his own limits. For Tashi, Art is the predictably safe bet, the player and type of love that will never exceed a certain threshold. Patrick represents the desire for the elusive, masterfully personified in O’Connor’s devilish smile.
Photo credit: Niko Tavernise © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credit: Niko Tavernise © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credit: Niko Tavernise © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credit: Niko Tavernise © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Watch the trailer here.
