Overall Rating: 7/10
Luca Guadagnino, an acclaimed filmmaker, is known for his stunning and vivid cinematography and emotionally charged narratives, and his newest movie is no exception. Guadagnino’s “Challengers” offers a twist on romantic dramas giving a tantalizing feel to characters within the story.
The film holds audiences’ full attention during screening with its electric score, intricate cinematography, magnetizing acting and an overall exciting plot. However, many over-sexualized moments made emotional and romantic scenes feel cheap and otherwise cheesy.
The film stars Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, all of whom do their characters justice with their acting expertise. The complexity of this film is hard to break down but here are the main points that help us analyze the overall meaning and quality of the feature.
First, let’s analyze our leading lady: Tashi Duncan. Duncan eats, sleeps and breathes the game of tennis, even when a debilitating injury forces her to stop competing. We are first introduced to her through Art and Patrick’s eyes, watching her obliterate her opponents with great ferocity in a match.
Tashi is portrayed by Guadagnino as wildly competitive with strong personal ambition, qualities that make her a great athlete. However, she is single-focused, which leads her to be arrogant and overbearing as a coach. She prioritizes herself in all aspects of her life, including her marriage and motherhood.
Zendaya’s character is a master manipulator, she has Art and Patrick right where she wants them: in constant competition for her love. This game of love drives the character dynamics of the trio.
Our next subject to analyze is Mike Faist’s complex and vulnerable Art Donaldson who is a seasoned tennis competitor who falls under Tashi Duncan’s spell, complicating his relationship with his best friend Patrick who is also pining for her attention. Art is on a quest for self-identity, he is insecure which makes him lean on Tashi throughout the movie.
The last character of note is Josh O’Connor’s Patrick Zweig, an intense with a questionable moral compass. He grapples with personal ambitions, relationships and mistakes throughout the movie. Though Patrick can be quite selfish, he is not heartless, his love for Art is very apparent throughout the movie and keeps them together, even through the trials and tribulations of their friendship.
Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor embody their characters to the best of their ability and make them come to life. A large part of the movie focused on the romance between these three main characters. However, it was not executed well at all. All of the romantic scenes were directed in a crass way instead of a romantic way. For example, the finale scene between Patrick and Tashi was crucial to the end of the storyline and felt like a throwaway scene due to its sloppiness. Although this movie was entertaining, it definitely felt corny. The romantic scenes were forced and cheesy, however, it is important to keep in mind that this style is not new for Guadagnino as it felt similar to his film “Call Me by Your Name.”
Additionally, the soundtrack choices complimented the scenes very well. The electronic beats matched the high intensity of the tennis competition. Luca Guadagnino’s thrilling sports romance-drama “Challengers” was mostly a solid movie, minus three points for the corniness and disingenuousness, we give it a 7/10.
