May 9, 2024 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Katie Lockwood and Taylor Lynch
One of the biggest TikTok trends is asking: are you going to have a “Saltburn,” “Call Me By Your Name” or “Challengers” summer? We here at The Catalyst are putting our money on a “Challengers” summer after seeing Luca Guadagnino’s new box office hit starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
“Challengers” is not your typical sports movie and it commands attention by redefining the rom-com genre. It’s safe to say that this love-triangle tennis dramedy birthed the loudest audience we’ve ever seen at the movies, and is sure to leave you at the edge of your seat. After two trips to the theater, we’re here to help break down this sure-to-be modern hit. But don’t worry this review won’t reveal any spoilers and is sure to leave you wanting more.
“Challengers” follows the love triangle and tennis careers of three athletes: Zendaya’s talented Tashi Duncan, Faist’s dedicated Art Donaldson and O’Connor’s reckless but promising Patrick Zweig from the 2006 Junior’s U.S. Open to a 2019 epic rematch. After a career-ending injury takes her out of the game, Duncan turns to coaching and takes her husband, Donaldson, to champion status.
Decades later, Donaldson, ready to settle down, has lost his touch, so Duncan decides to enroll him in the low-level New Rochelle Pete’s Tire Town Challenger tournament to regain his confidence. Meanwhile, Zweig’s career has taken a wildly different turn after never really making it as a pro. He’s still chasing a pipedream and sleeping in his car as he enrolls in the New Rochelle tournament, knowing that if he wins he could qualify for the U.S. Open.
The film is bookended by the final round of the New Rochelle tournament, where Donaldson and Zweig find themselves competing against each other for the win. Told through flashbacks to the 2006 juniors, Duncan and Donaldson’s time at Stanford and the 2012 Atlanta Open, the film jumps between eras within the players’ lives which are signified by stark haircuts and a stellar performance by the makeup department.
Director Luca Guadagnino, the brain behind “Call Me By Your Name” and “Skin and Bones,” masterfully uses flashbacks to tell a captivating story full of parallels and foreshadowing. In each retelling, Guadagnino reveals more background on the characters to help the audience piece together the scene. How can one make years of college fly by in a few scenes, yet stretch out a singular tennis match for hours (in a way that isn’t boring)? This is truly something only Guadangnino could master.
While many movies try and fail to successfully achieve a full-circle and consistent analepsis, “Challengers” masters this approach through its inclusion of recurring themes, dialogue and symbolism. During your watch, be sure to pay attention to the language and character development that is offered through this format and beautifully tied together as the film continuously returns to where it started.
To begin to unpack this film, one must start by mentioning the obvious: tennis? Sex? According to LetterBox Patron Bryan Espitia: “everything is sex, except sex, which is tennis.” This idea is introduced upon the protagonist’s first conversation at a 2006 party when Duncan tells Donaldson and Zweig that tennis “is a relationship.”
After a steamy hotel room makeout, Duncan promises the winner of Donaldson and Zweig’s championship match her phone number, the first realization of a recurring theme throughout the film: the two challengers never truly seem to be playing for the win.
The metaphor of tennis, love and sex is as critical to the story’s progression as stylistic aspects of the film, like its look and sound. Breaking from the norm set by other big-screen names, cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s skillful eye creates unique visuals that will change your perspective on sports films. The viewer truly sees the story from each character’s mind with avant-garde, hand-held shots. Yet also, from fast-moving action scenes that follow the ball moving across the court, to make-out scenes where time literally slows down — the camerawork in this film tells a story of its own.
Although it could be easy to fall into the spectacle of lustful romance and intense sport throughout the film, one cannot understate the strategic and underlying character development which makes it truly introspective.
The performances of O’Connor in “The Crown” and Faist in “West Side Story” are another commendable aspect of “Challengers.” The actors successfully develop a pair of boyish boarding school roommates into two remarkably juxtaposing archetypes, molding both audience perceptions and the film’s heroine. While Faist represents nominal success and normality, O’Connor embodies youthful and at times immature determination, offering critical perspectives to the already gripping plot.
Needless to say, Zendaya’s performance dominates this film, as we see her come to life from her own imagination as a producer. Straying from her past roles in “Euphoria,” “Dune” and the “Spiderman” sagas, Zendaya’s Duncan is a girlboss force to be reckoned with. Her performance encapsulates all you could ask for in a heroine: unapologetic determination, emotional complexity and a beautiful transition from adolescence to adulthood.
And lastly, but certainly not least, it would be a crime not to give credit to the impeccable score from the minds of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, members of Nine Inch Nails, who worked on “Bones and All” with Guadagnino in 2022. The movie’s soundtrack is truly the icing on the cake as it jumps from a heavenly yet haunting chorale to a vampy one, to edgy 80’s techno.
In case it’s not clear, we’re happy to see Luca Guadagnino once again profit off of straight boys kissing and continue to dominate the idealized summer category with “Challengers.” We not only encourage you to take a trip to Roadhouse to see this film on the big screen but, to plug Zendaya, we urge you to consider watching it multiple times. From the perspective of these reviewer’s, each watch is an entirely new and thrilling experience.