Sincerely, Saskia

I had been looking forward to seeing Challengers ever since it was announced. Like the vast majority of the world, Zendaya is one celebrity I simply can’t seem to get over. She’s beautiful, talented and her method dressing on the red carpet is a sight to behold. It’s safe to say that I was seeing Challengers for her and her only, but from the moment the film started, my allegiance changed.

Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist are not your typical Hollywood heartthrob types, but then again, the odd looking guy is having a bit of a moment. From Barry Keoghan to Jeremy Allen White, unconventionally attractive white guys are blowing up our screens and stealing our hearts.

I’m sure by now you all know the premise of Challengers — if for nothing other than the relentless publicity campaign that has been dominating social feeds for the last two weeks —  but just in case you don’t, let me break it down.

Zendaya, in what is arguably her most commanding performance on screen, plays Tashi Duncan, rising-tennis-star-turned-coach after an injury takes her out of the game she dominates. Trying her best to shake her husband Art (played by Faist) out of his mediocre streak, they come face to face with their past in the form of a burnt out Patrick (O’Connor), the third prong in their deliciously-twisted love triangle.

As you probably already guessed, the tennis element of Challengers is secondary to the romance between Tashi, Patrick and Art. Branding herself a home wrecker for coming between the once best of friends, love doesn’t mean nearly as much in tennis as it does in their entanglement.  

The first two sets were like four play, with the tensions rising, emotions running high, all leading up to that final set…

The film didn’t go the direction I was expecting at all. From the time jump and the flashbacks to giving away who one she ends up with, the film’s direction was something of a mystery. I thought I would spend the whole time turning my head from left to right, like being front row at a tennis match, trying to decide who I thought Tashi should be with. That is, of course, before coming to the realisation that the powerhouse character is probably better off alone. Instead, and forgive me for saying this, but I spent most of the movie willing for Tashi to get out of the way, so Patrick and Art would realise their love for each other was more than friendship and run away together.

This is not a mar on Zendaya’s performance by any means. The three of them thrived off one another and it made for the most entertaining dynamic, but the sexual chemistry between Patrick and Art was an element of the film I was not expecting, but certainly wasn’t complaining about its presence.

As much as they are grappling with their love for Tashi and their desire for everything she represents – combined with their passion for tennis – they were grappling with their emotions for each other. There were moments that really blurred the lines between their feelings and it was one of the most exciting things about the whole film to watch play out.

The only way to describe the chemistry between Art and Patrick is like that moment in a rom com when the two leads, who ‘hate’ each other, finally give in their desires and just… fuck. Although this doesn’t happen between Patrick and Art in the film, there is a final scene, a final game of tennis – the Challengers – which may as well have been a sex scene. The first two sets were like four play, with the tensions rising, emotions running high, all leading up to that final set – the crescendo – when they finally give in to one another and everything comes to a head.

There’s a reason why Challengers is being called ‘the sexiest movie of the year’

But, because their chemistry is second to that of the chemistry they share with Tashi, we don’t get closure on it or the satisfaction of knowing how that character arc works out in a post credit world. And I get it. It’s not the point of the film, and it was only meant to be a dance, a tease, a game of tennis if you will, but it ended up being one of the highlights.

The director, Luca Guadagnino, is known for portraying his character’s emotional complexities and the exploration of sexuality and sexual expression features heavy in his films, but all under a dimmer spotlight. Seeing a much-anticipated mainstream movie be so complex with this relationship between Patrick and Art, not forced and not performative, is one of the film’s greatest strengths. That and the fact that he has allowed all three characters to abandon tropes of what you’d usually expect of such portrayals and really make them surprising. Especially true of Zendaya’s Tashi because there is no resolution with her and there is definitely no apology. She’s not a good person and she knows it – none of them are – and not once does Guadagnino make her apologise for that.

There’s a reason why Challengers is being called ‘the sexiest movie of the year’ and it’s very much down to the emotional lawlessness that each character portrays. It builds tension you’re not allowed to release until they tell you to, keeping you on your toes and hanging onto their every word.

It’s always a pleasure with Zendaya, but as someone who didn’t watch The Crown or the latest West Side Story, I look forward to seeing what Faist and O’Connor do next.

Challengers is a solid 8/10.