A perfect match
Sporting drama is a thrilling ride on and off court you won’t want to end
In what has been a relatively safe and serene year at cinemas so far, Challengers is a spectacularly successful standout. This isn’t just a burst of fresh air. Challengers begins with gusts of howling wind, then builds with gale-force intensity until it lands viewers inside a hurricane. Though it is indeed both a great sports movie and an unconventionally riveting romantic drama, it is the raw energy continually trapped, released and trapped again throughout Challengers that truly secures a screen grand slam.
The story begins in that twilight zone of professional tennis that separates the big money splashed around by the major tournaments from the loose change to be scrounged on the satellite circuit.
It is here, watching from the stands, that we find Tashi (Zendaya), a former junior women’s champ whose promising career was cruelly curtailed by injury.
Tashi’s involvement in the sport that has been a life’s obsession is now confined to managing the tennis career of her highly-ranked husband Art (Mike Faist).
His form has been wavering in the run-up to the US Open, so Tashi has entered Art in a low-profile suburban event so he can rack up an easy kill.
Victory in the final of the not-soprestigious Mike’s Tire Town Championship should be a mere formality, were it not for the imposing off-court record of a surprise opponent.
Patrick (Josh O’Connor) might just have the all-important psychological edge in what shapes as a gripping grudge match.
Not only did he used to be Art’s best friend when they were hungry up-and-comers, Patrick also just happened to be Tashi’s boyfriend of choice back then.
Using the Art versus Patrick stoush as a compelling framing device, director Luca Gudagnino volleys the audience back and forth through time to ultimately reveal exactly what is riding on the result of this match.
Just as the longevity of Tashi’s marriage to Art could be considerably shortened, Patrick’s expiry date as a viable player might be bumped back a year or two.
The stakes are raised further by the hyperkinetic shooting style which Gudagnino and his creative team
apply to the irresistible game day sequences.
To put it bluntly, with cameras perpetually whooshing within and around the play from every conceivable angle, the uniquely seductive force and pure human instinct of tennis has never been captured quite like this.
As for the story told here, be assured Challengers is not just tracing the same old lovers’ triangles drawn so many times before.
Via a trio of exciting, exacting performances, each participant’s virtues and flaws are brought to life vividly and convincingly.
No one character will win you over, but in many ways you’ll be left hoping the game(s) they are playing will never end.