Guanagnino’s CHALLENGERS | Review

Even after a long-winded theatrical release for Dune: Part Two shook the sci-fi landscape, the 2024 season for Zendaya had just only started.

If it was not safe enough to mark Zendaya as one of the best in cinema before Challengers, I think it is now. Tennis is a game of back and forth, lead changes, and the backhands that barely squeak over the net. In this narrative, tennis becomes a metaphor for intimate power dynamics, where the game's court is not just a battleground of skill but a stage for desire, control, and seduction. Within the game, the ball is entirely in Tashi’s (Zendaya) court. Do the boys ever have any control? The answer is a resounding no, simply because they give her that control as soon as she enters their lives. She uses the lust they have for her to find out what they really want in tennis. The two end up having entirely different paths to glory. Art (Mike Faist) struggles with confidence, while Patrick (Josh O’Connor) is arrogant and believes his bad luck is to blame for his missteps. Together, they’re unstoppable but separated; they are two halves awkwardly split.

Tashi’s constant desire to be great makes her second-guess herself. The one thing she does not second-guess is attending Stanford to study while playing collegiately and then going pro once she gets her degree. Her injury in college is symbolic of wasted potential, much like the other two who also lose their grip on theirs. While hers was unfixable to her, she feels the two of them can be helped. Patrick wastes his potential with his desire to veer off the path and not allow himself to be helped, while Art wastes his potential with his constant lack of confidence in games where he is heavily favored to win. It also comes up when we discuss her decision to be with Art and the wasted potential in waiting for Patrick to return from his high horse. She sees this, leaning back and forth to whoever she might feel is in need of her potential that she never got to pursue.

Guadagnino’s direction in Challengers plays well for intricately written dialogue, creative camera movements, and editing techniques that underscore the sensuality of the game of tennis. Between the incredible one-take in her Stanford dorm room and the insane tennis ball tracking shots, this film wines and dines in great visuals throughout the entire runtime. The shots of heads turning at the return of each ball are utilized skillfully throughout, giving characters a singular gaze without distracting from where the characters are within the story. The matches also feel accurate to the actual sport, which I think is overlooked in other sports films. It never becomes unrealistic with its expectations, and I think that’s a driving factor to what drives this film home safely. The subtle details add to the film's overall feeling, small things like players eating a banana on the sideline during a game. The physicality of tennis, with its swift movements and distance between players, becomes a metaphor for physical intimacy. For example, the sound of the ball hitting the racket, the quick exchanges at the net, and the game's rhythmic back and forth echo a sensual cadence. His direction captures these moments by using close-ups and slow-motion shots to amplify the sensuality of every serve and volley.

The third act is a bit weak, in my opinion. While the film's final sequence works very well and gets creative very fast, I don’t know if it’s a satisfying enough conclusion. It continued to get better through the first and second acts, but I did not feel the same for the third. It does play out as an overall theme of the movie, but it was a bit frustrating, and I felt almost naive to watch a character of her power continue to fall into the trap of lust. I think this is what ultimately holds the film partially back. It’s not detrimental, but I think a less ambiguous ending potentially could have put a cherry on top of an overall great piece of work.

Either way, this film does some very good things. Through the lens of tennis, it explores themes of power, control, and the complexities of relationships, painting a vivid portrait of passion on and off the court. At the center of it all is Zendaya, a commanding presence whose performance elevates the film to new heights of cinematic artistry.

Let me try that again; it’s her best performance.

Lust is a dangerous game.

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