I am a big fan of tennis and of a few other sports. I also love the art of film. Their meeting should be one in heaven for me, and yet, so far, I haven't seen a sports fiction movie that I actually liked. The competition is tough. The sports tournaments themselves, when they are of a good level and when you like the sport, are entertainment of the highest quality, suspenseful shows with interesting characters (many of whom we know well) and - we like to hope - honest. Sports broadcasts with today's technological means bring them to our living room. I have yet to see a sports movie that captivates me like a good tennis or soccer match or an athletic competition or a world-class figure skating competition. I haven't seen any movie that made me get fired up or at least understand something about those sports that leave me indifferent. 'Challengers' (2024) was promising, especially since it is directed by Luca Guadagnino. The promises were not fulfilled. 'Challengers' didn't change my opinion at all. But maybe it's not a movie where sports is the main subject, but just another romantic comedy?
The story is quite simple, although it is not told chronologically. Art and Patrick are teenage friends, good ones, the kind of friendship that lasts either a lifetime or until they meet the girl they both fall in love with. They are also tennis players, they team up in the doubles matches, but all tennis fans know that what matters are the singles competitions. Tashi appears in their lives and on the tennis courts, she's that gorgeous 'you can't help but fall in love with' kind of girl, and as soon as they see her (on the court, where else?) they both fall in love with her. She is also an exceptional tennis player, maybe even better than them. The boys invite the girl to their room. This is where takes place the first of the few scenes in the film that some will consider brilliant, others questionable. Who will the girl choose? She decides it will be the winner of the next day's match when the two play against each other! The rivalry between the two would continue throughout their careers. On the ground and emotionally. Art, who will apparently win in the long run, will not be able to erase Patrick from the girl's mind. 13 years later, Tashi - forced to give up her career due to an accident - is the coach but also the wife of Art and the mother of their daughter. But she did not forget Patrick, her first choice, and when the two men will face each other - at the end of their careers - in a second tier tournament , there will be much more than a tennis match at stack on the court.
For Luca Guadagnino, 'Challengers' is the second film made in the United States. If he intended to direct like an American, he succeeded, but not in the good sense of the expression. Nothing reminds of the subtlety and complexity of some of his earlier films (I really enjoyed the ones with Tilda Swinton). He is not helped by Justin Kuritzkes' original screenplay, which fails to avoid clichés and which, when it proposes more interesting conflicts resolves them conventionally. The only aspect that I thought was well addressed was that of the end-of-career crises of great athletes - an interesting topic that deserved a separate development. The footage of the tennis matches in the movie did not excite me either, including the slow-motion effects or the 'ball-in-flight' angles. I am probably too spoiled with the games of the great champions that I see in abundance on TV. Additionally, the tennis in the film is mediocre, as only Zendaya of the cast seems to have made the effort to take some serious tennis lessons. The role of Tashi is complex and interesting, and the young actress did quite well, although for me she did not manage to fully elucidate the character of the woman who is loved and who loves two men who fight for her (on the tennis court, but not only). If Zendaya's intention is to build a career in JLo's footsteps, she's on the right track. But if she has other ambitions, she starts having problems. Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor do honorably as the teenagers who become men on the tennis courts, with a plus for Josh perhaps benefiting from the fact that it's easier to play 'bad boys'. 'Challengers' tries to be much more than just another tennis movie or another coming-of-age romance, but it doesn't quite succeed. Me, I'm waiting for the 'Nasty' documentary and for the big tennis tournaments of the year.
The story is quite simple, although it is not told chronologically. Art and Patrick are teenage friends, good ones, the kind of friendship that lasts either a lifetime or until they meet the girl they both fall in love with. They are also tennis players, they team up in the doubles matches, but all tennis fans know that what matters are the singles competitions. Tashi appears in their lives and on the tennis courts, she's that gorgeous 'you can't help but fall in love with' kind of girl, and as soon as they see her (on the court, where else?) they both fall in love with her. She is also an exceptional tennis player, maybe even better than them. The boys invite the girl to their room. This is where takes place the first of the few scenes in the film that some will consider brilliant, others questionable. Who will the girl choose? She decides it will be the winner of the next day's match when the two play against each other! The rivalry between the two would continue throughout their careers. On the ground and emotionally. Art, who will apparently win in the long run, will not be able to erase Patrick from the girl's mind. 13 years later, Tashi - forced to give up her career due to an accident - is the coach but also the wife of Art and the mother of their daughter. But she did not forget Patrick, her first choice, and when the two men will face each other - at the end of their careers - in a second tier tournament , there will be much more than a tennis match at stack on the court.
For Luca Guadagnino, 'Challengers' is the second film made in the United States. If he intended to direct like an American, he succeeded, but not in the good sense of the expression. Nothing reminds of the subtlety and complexity of some of his earlier films (I really enjoyed the ones with Tilda Swinton). He is not helped by Justin Kuritzkes' original screenplay, which fails to avoid clichés and which, when it proposes more interesting conflicts resolves them conventionally. The only aspect that I thought was well addressed was that of the end-of-career crises of great athletes - an interesting topic that deserved a separate development. The footage of the tennis matches in the movie did not excite me either, including the slow-motion effects or the 'ball-in-flight' angles. I am probably too spoiled with the games of the great champions that I see in abundance on TV. Additionally, the tennis in the film is mediocre, as only Zendaya of the cast seems to have made the effort to take some serious tennis lessons. The role of Tashi is complex and interesting, and the young actress did quite well, although for me she did not manage to fully elucidate the character of the woman who is loved and who loves two men who fight for her (on the tennis court, but not only). If Zendaya's intention is to build a career in JLo's footsteps, she's on the right track. But if she has other ambitions, she starts having problems. Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor do honorably as the teenagers who become men on the tennis courts, with a plus for Josh perhaps benefiting from the fact that it's easier to play 'bad boys'. 'Challengers' tries to be much more than just another tennis movie or another coming-of-age romance, but it doesn't quite succeed. Me, I'm waiting for the 'Nasty' documentary and for the big tennis tournaments of the year.