Challengers is an extremely captivating, beautifully shot, and wonderfully written movie that continuously sends the viewer from the past to the present and back again in a story about love, friendship, betrayal, lust, frustration and infatuation that slowly reveals itself over the course of the final round tennis tournament.
We begin with just a trio of intense slow-motion, close-up shots of our main characters, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), and Tashi Donaldson (Zendaya), and then the location is revealed and we’re shown that it’s 2019 and we’re in New Rochelle, New York for the final round of a Challenger tournament. The match between Donaldson and Zweig is just beginning, Donaldson serves and they exchange shots before Zweig scores a point. Then the magnificent score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross kicks in and we’re off to the races. It instantly sets the tone for how things will pick up, slow down, and just the overall steady tempo that the movie and story both move at going forward. Even though the match has just begun, Patrick exchanges a look with Tashi, which Art catches and Tashi knows it. This isn’t just some random finals match in small town New York, there’s history here and we’re about to get a crash course.
The script is written by Justin Kuritzkes and while it jumps around it does so in intriguing fashion, flawlessly giving the viewer bits of information about the relationship between this trio that’s been going on for the past 13 years that it constantly has you wondering who is in the right, who’s done whom wrong, and who you should actually be rooting for, be it any or all of them. It’s not something that’s easily done, and choosing to have the entire story play out during a pivotal match while jumping back in time to see how we got there was a great choice. This type of style has been done in other films, and when it’s done well it’s often a slam dunk…ah, wrong sport.
Director Luca Guadagnino was also the perfect choice for the film, as his visionary style really elevates the film and story as a whole. There’s just enough use of slow motion to build an instant feeling of intensity and draw the viewer in to what’s about to happen, there are moments that are built up so that the viewer is at least mentally on the edge of their seat and then he hits the breaks entirely, which can be a risky move, but he pulls it off with ease each time. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention editor Marco Costa and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, as both help elevate Guadagnino’s vision to its highest potential.
I don’t want to get into the plot too much, as I set it up in the briefest of ways above and it’s so much fun to experience it as it plays out that I don’t think my delving into it much deeper would cause you to want to watch it any more than what I’ve already said would. If anything it’d just take away from the experience, so instead I’ll just focus on the actors. Just like everyone else on this movie the cast bring their A-game and are also the reason this project is elevated to another level. Zendaya plays a role that isn’t something we’ve seen her do as of yet, as with the playing of time she gets to play a young tennis prodigy as well as a mother and wife over a decade later. I did say there’d be no plot spoilers and that isn’t one, as that’s all revealed after the opening scene described above. Tashi is such a unique character, full of extreme emotions and passion for the sport she loves, while also trying to navigate life, love and where she fits into things – or possibly better worded as where others fit into her life – and Zendaya takes all these balls and juggles them in a way that seems effortless every time she’s on screen.
Faist and O’Connor are also brilliant, as they fully embrace every aspect that these characters have to bring to the screen. If there’s hesitancy then the audience would see it, and it’s clear that both of these guys were all in from the word “action.” There’s so much depth to all of these characters, and the history between them just feels so natural with how Faist, O’Connor and even Zendaya play them. Faist and O’Connor feel like old pals, and everything just comes off as incredibly real because of how well everyone works together here. It often does feel like we’re a fly on the wall watching the lives of this trio play out. An incredibly old fly.
Guadagnino has hit an ace with this one. Challengers is just such a quick-paced, surprisingly intense, completely engrossing, visually stunning film that quickly lands itself in the world of top tier sports movies. While it’s not the score you want in tennis, there’s so much to love about Challengers. It’s a love story about sports, it’s a love story to the sport, it’s a love story in general. I’ve done just about all I can to serve this movie up to you as something you shouldn’t miss. Now the ball is in your court.
Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
The visuals of this film translate incredibly well on this Blu-ray transfer, with the mix of natural shots and any CGI elements folding in seamlessly. A lot of the tennis ball action was put in during post, which makes sense, but it comes off incredibly well on the final product and the cuts are so well done that the viewer is more captivated by the action taking place than trying to pinpoint if a ball looks out of place (it doesn’t, but I’m just saying.) The colours are rich, and the blacks are deep and the overall stylistic look of the film shines through nicely. This is a movie that would’ve truly excelled in 4K, which is something we’ll have to hope for down the road. That’s not to say you should wait for it through, as it may never come and this Blu-ray really does deliver as best it can.
On the audio side of things we’ve got a superb Dolby Atmos mix that pulls the viewer right into the action. We’ve got balls flying back and forth on the tennis court, clearly from side to side if you have the right set-up, as well as the grunts, panting and sweat dripping. That’s just on the court, as we’ve also got plenty happening off of it that comes through nicely, and the dialogue is always crisp and clean, front and center. Let’s not forget the wonderfully intense score by Reznor and Ross, which just pops up sometimes when you least expect it and sets the tone nicely.
Special Features:
Sadly, there are no special features on this disc, which is unfortunate. This is one where I would’ve loved to have heard from Guadagnino, Zendaya, Faist and O’Connor. Even a behind-the-scenes feature alone would’ve been great to give some insight into what everyone was thinking and so forth.
Disclaimer: A review copy of this Blu-ray was sent to me to cover in honest and truthful fashion.
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents Challengers. Directed by: Luca Guadagnino. Written by: Justin Kuritzkes. Starring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, Darnell Appling, Bryan Doo, A.J. Lister. Running time: 131 Minutes. Rating: 14A. Released on Blu-ray: July 09, 2024.
About Brendan Campbell
