CHALLENGERS - 2024
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, Darnell Appling, Nada Despotovich, Hailey gates, and A.J. Lister
Genre: Sports Drama (Audio clip)
Whew! This was one genuinely nutty love triangle/tennis drama just LOADED to the gills with sweat, grunts, thighs (human), whip-pans, tongue kisses, tennis courts, broken rackets, house music and more phallic-shaped foods being eaten than even Jonah Hill's character in Superbad could even think to draw....and I dug all of that about it. :) It's not remotely subtle - it's as if you stuck Bob Fosse, Paul Verhoeven, and Damian Chazelle's best bits into a blender with the result being a very frothy smoothie which is both tasty and still a bit too much brain-freeze at points...or if you just hired director Luca Guadagnino to attempt to deliver his most accessible psycho-sexual drama yet. And it feels as if he succeeded here for the most part.....
He certainly didn't do it alone as this film has three strong young actors working tirelessly at its core....of course I have to admit the only one I had seen before was Zendaya. She's once again bringing the heat even with an admittedly much more sinister character than she has usually played.....tennis phenom Tashi Duncan (a name you won't forget) who ends up driving a wedge (or does she?) between two young tennis phenoms who kinda fall hard for her (or do they?) as all three navigate the cutthroat world of professional tennis while they also navigate....each other? 🤔 (Lame metaphor but I'll stick with it)
The two rivals/friends/maybe something more are the generally sincere Art played by Mike Faist and the admittedly sleazier Patrick played by Josh O'Connor....this is a three-pronged vehicle for all three actors even though it's been ALL.about Zendaya for the marketing. Which I can understand of course as she has been omnipresent of late but make no mistake, this time-hopping story (back and forth at points between 2006 and 2019) focuses equally on all three characters. And fortunately, they each deliver very strong performances. Zendaya is a charismatic force of nature throughout and for the second time in as many months (the first being Dune Part II), we have another strong film with a powerhouse ending closing in in her just looking....FIERCE! To quote the Intercut Podcast channel, Zendaya's FACE - center-frame - is a special effect unto itself. ;)
The chemistry is strong between each of the three main leads and I have to say that Josh might have stuck out the most as his is the flashiest role on the surface as someone who becomes a drifter literally living out of his car. His Patrick drifts between swagger and desperate on a dime...perpetually hungry, horny and defiant but always with JUST the bare level of charm to carry himself through the day. The actor is certainly someone to watch - he reminds me a BIT of a younger Mickey Rourke (early '80's) or Vince Vaughn (mid '90's) but with less polish than either of those guys. Not a bad thing mind you, he just comes off as rougher than either of those guys did at the time.
And along the lines for how this film was marketed....YES it is a sexy movie all around but no, there is very little (if any) actual intercourse. 🤫 There are several scenes of characters kissing passionately which are very well filmed but if we're being honest, the actual release/culmination/whatever you want to call it....THAT more often than not occurs on the tennis court.
And undoubtedly it's those sequences ON the tennis court which shine the most, especially the eventual conclusion which certainly left me with vibes of the final drumming sequence of Whiplash.....which might be the highest compliment. :) This film is truly HIGH-ENERGY for most of its runtime thanks to exemplary work from returning Guadagnino collaborators editor Marco Costa and DP Sayombhu Mukdeprom. There is no shortage of creative shots and inventive cuts often lending a frenetic, hyper-charged tone and pace to the story. Undoubtedly there are several choices made here which could put off many viewers but I personally found most of them invigorating!
I DID find some visual choices a bit on-the-nose, distractedly so at points....especially all of the use of phallic food objects which are always at or near Patrick's (O'Connor) mouth during many a scene. I mean just off the top of my head, I could recall a coke bottle, banana, churro, hot dog....MAYBE a popsicle at one point,?? I'm not quite sure. Not so sure it was necessary….actually along the lines of the whole peach thing in previous episode, Luca’s Call Me By Your Name which was actually my LEAST favorite part of that film sorry…..just me. 😆 If nothing else, it also did add a playful aspect to the story. As a director, Luca just isn't holding back and what results is a highly entertaining movie!
Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):
One remaining standout aspect of the film HAS to be the thumping' electronic score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, like their best one since The Social Network....which they deservedly won an Oscar for. (Here's hoping they win again for this) It just pulsates throughout the movie even seemingly drowning out some dialogue in a couple of scenes....which I think actually serves the overall vibe of the movie well, not sure why. 🤔 It helped that I saw the movie in Dolby....it even felt like a party at points. :) (Audio clip)
Now as for WHICH tracks stood out, that’s tough to nail down as it’s pretty much wall-to-wall….but one which certainly worked occurs maybe about 20 minutes into the film and this takes place early in the overall timeline as both Art and Patrick come to see Tashi compete….in person….for the first time….and just the level of SWAGGER on Zendaya’s part in this sequence is impressive. She struts out on to the court, does some stretches, and then proceeds to play in a fierce back-and-forth match with Anna Mueller. I’m no expert on the game but the athleticism looks convincing, Zendaya looks great, and the completely befuddled expressions on both young men’s faces as they both sit back in their seats clearly smitten are….PRICELESS. The track has a smug little vocal throughout over a confident mid-tempo beat which gradually speeds up – the track is called “Yeah x 10.” (Audio clip)
There’s are at least two more standouts but one is directly linked to the TRAILER MOMENT which I’ll get to in a just a bit….and the other is a confident, even sexier full-on house number featuring vocals from Trent Reznor himself. If like myself, you were a fan of Nine Inch Nails back in the ‘90’s it’s a kick to hear Mr. Reznor cut loose for a change – this plays loudly over the closing credits, literally RIGHT after the final invigorating shot. The placement of this song is very much from the Danny Boyle Trainspotting/Sunshine/28 Days Later school of using music to ensure that your audience walks out of the theater just feeling PUMPED! This absurdly catchy track is called, “Compress/Repress.” (Audio clip)
Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):
Back to the marketing....having seen that first trailer now SO many times (as it played for roughly nine months in front of every movie, thanks to the release date being pushed back), I feel as if it really does a disservice to this movie. :/ I didn't used one of THOSE folks who commiserated about trailers giving away too much but it just feels that for the more trickier sell R-rated non-franchise movies recently (Civil War, Drive-Away Dolls being two other recent examples), their respective studios are just flaunting EVERY conceivable plot development and/or money shot within a two to three minute trailer!
I completely get that within this post-COVID/streaming marketplace, it has never been more challenging to release a stand-alone film for ADULTS into theaters....but even adults can handle some mystery too. I LOVE trailers as an artform so no, I'm not gonna stop watching them sorry - there's just a middle ground there between JJ Abrams mystery box and spoiling the final villain in a Terminator sequel. ;) Getting back to this movie, there is a major development for the Tashi character which is pushed heavily in that trailer and yet, it doesn't actually occur until roughly 60% of the movie...to the point where I was just personally gearing up for it to finally occur.
Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):
I’m going to keep this somewhat vague as this movie just came out….and to be fair, the actual resolution of this scene is left somewhat vague as well which I think makes it even better. I am referring to LITERALLY the last five minutes of this movie….the culmination of this “challengers” series of matches between Art and Patrick. The whole movie has been building towards this and it is probably THE most exciting ending to a film - involving action but NOT life-threatening action – since the conclusion of Whiplash. And yes as I alluded to earlier, we DO hear some very tense, in-your-face score from Ross & Reznor playing over this….feeling a bit disco-ish like vintage Giorgio Moroder from back in the day with even some electronic strings mixed in there – THIS track is called “Match Point.” (Audio clip)
MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):
So yes along those lines, this story DOES have wall-to-wall tennis sequences often excitedly shot and yet, it's an oversimplification to say that it "sexualizes" the sport of tennis. The screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes is actually smarter than that: it positions each of its three main characters existing at different levels of the competitive spectrum....with Zendaya's Tashi at the most extreme level. So we're witnessing athletes who are not only most alive when they're competing....but the sport defines how they communicate and relate to others. It's a genuinely clever approach to the story which goes beyond just using tennis as a metaphor for sex....kind of the other way around actually and that's a major driver for this film's success as a sports drama.
And there-in lies the rub of this category: how you choose ONE standout when everyone in front of and behind the camera are simply giving it their all? Simply put….you DON’T. As much as this movie succeeds as a full-on sensory experience, it really would NOT work without the spine of a well-structured screenplay. From the get-go, these are each framed as distinct characters who we effectively watch develop in different directions despite being told via fragments going back and forth through time. For formulating the text for this exciting story – with his FIRST produced screenplay no less – Justin Kuritzkes is the MVP. (Audio clip)
Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Wow this, Civil War, AND Dune Part II all within the past couple of months….what an unusually FANTASTIC spring for mainstream cinema and movies for ADULTS no less! Here’s hoping we keep up the momentum through the summer….
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And that ends another ONE TWO THREE review!
