By Monique Dhillon – Entertainment Reporter DESIBUZZCanada
Hollywood’s hottest starlet Zendaya’s latest film “Challengers” is a tennis related sports-romance directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes.
The film not only stars Zendaya, she’s also a producer. She plays Tashi Duncan, a young tennis sensation whose tennis career is cut short by a terrible injury, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist play best friends Patrick Zweig and Art Donaldson from tennis academy.
Challengers is a story about tennis pros in a love triangle and uses the game of tennis to show the dynamics of love and power.
Justin Kuritzkes’ clever screenplay revolves around a single tennis match in 2019 between the successful tennis superstar Art Donaldson and former best friend Patrick Zweig. The film jumps through different time periods from 2006 where all three meet at the Junior US Open game, then 2009 and jump back to 2019. Intertwining them as the movie progresses revealing details of what happened in this complicated back story between the three of them.
As we return back to the main tennis match, you then understand why the tension is high and understand the players better and what is at stake for them. This match acts as the endgame in Art and Patrick’s long time friendship/rivalry/bromance with Tashi being in the center of it. Tashi is viewed as an idol, lover, coach and wife to both men. But with Zendaya’s performance you see that Tashi is her own woman first and is running the show.
Back in 2006 at the Junior US Open game, Patrick and Art are captivated by Tashi from her amazing tennis skills to her beauty. They go to an after party and that is where they try to woo her and things get steamy between the trio and they ask for her number but Tashi before leaving tells the boys she will give her number to whoever wins their tennis match the following day.
Patrick wins and Tashi and Patrick start dating then break it off after her terrible injury and years later she reconnects with Art and he reveals he has not spoken to Patrick in years and the two start a romantic relationship and become his tennis coach and later wife.
But during her engagement with Art, Tashi has a one night stand with Patrick. Even the night before the central match the two meet up and hook up again. This back and forth between relationships mirrors the back and forth nature in a tennis game. It’s interesting to see the dynamics shift between the three of them because tennis is a game designed for two players, sometimes four but not for three.
I found this dynamic to be the most interesting part of the movie but it’s a fun movie that will have audiences entertained, maybe even leave you blushing and wanting more. It’s a movie full of summer vibes and the cinematography is beautifully done and the movie’s colour palette is full of tennis court blues, neon-green balls and white shoes.
There aren’t many tennis movies out there because it’s difficult to make the match realistic and I think this movie shines with the attention to detail and the effort to make the tennis match’s look realistic. You can see the hard work everyone put in from the actors making the tennis moves look real by training with tennis pros before shooting the movie. It keeps you on your toes with what’s going to happen next.
It’s interesting to see how Art and Patrick’s tennis playing styles help reveal the type of romantic partners they will be because Art plays the backcourts and is playing percentage tennis where the shots you make put the odds in your favour whereas Patrick plays aggressive and makes impulsive moves / decisions and is dominating over his game partner. These tennis styles then reflect their romantic relationships. When Tashi is with Art, the relationship is seen as reliable and she finds success and stability in it. Whereas with Patrick, she has this electric fiery chemistry. This goes back to when the boys were young and played tennis together as a fire and ice duo.
The movie’s rhythmic techno score is amazingly done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and adds this new layer of depth to the movie. The electro-pop score makes you want to go out and dance and make the daytime tennis match feel like you’re at a rave dancing and elevates the movie. The score reflects the game of tennis well because tennis is playful and surprising and the music captures that by the tempo changes. It matches the fun and intensity of tennis while also not taking everything so seriously.
The film is visually beautiful but you come out of it feeling like nothing was really said but you are left with this high energy feeling with the ending. This could be viewed as weak where the movie has no pivotal moment where you feel like this is the film’s message.
The film reflects an athletes’ mindset and desire to win and you see this with the trio – Tashi as a coach pushes Art to be a winner and a pro tennis star, Art listens and trains to continue to be the winner Tashi wants him to be and Patrick strives to be a successful pro tennis player and fails but does not give up. The main match in the film makes you feel like you’re in the zone similar to how a professional athlete would feel.
The film, directed by accomplished Italian director Luca Guadagnino, also looks like a high end commercial because there are a lot of sponsorship and advertisement placemets that can feel overwhelming to the viewer. It is filled with over the top corporate sponsorships from Adidas, Uniqlo, Loewe, and Aston Martin which can be overlooked because it fits into the image and look of how successful pro athletes can be because of the sponsorships they take on. Because Art at the main tennis match is considered to be a wealthy and successful tennis player and we do see him on advertisements so it gets a pass.
However, the most interesting sponsorship happens during one of the movie’s most romantic scenes where Art and Tashi essentially go on a first date and are in this restaurant having a good time together and are later in the parking lot making out and it’s a very sweet and endearing moment. But all this is happening under the bright lights of an Applebee’s sign. When first seeing this it feels comical of how not subtle this sponsorship is and how right in your face it is featured. And makes you wonder why is the most romantic moment set in an Applebee’s of all places?
After looking into why, it turns out Applebee’s actually is the perfect choice and is accurate in the world of tennis. The scene of Tashi and Art eating at Applebee’s is located in the Cincinnati area where the Cincinnati Masters take place every year
It acts as an inside joke for tennis pros watching because in 2014 the New York Times published an article detailing how visiting tennis stars competing at the Cincinnati Masters loved this specific Applebee’s. They said that the hotel the tennis players stayed at for the masters game is near an Applebee’s where they would go because the food was reliable and it stayed open late.
Just like the scene in the film it had this warmth and familiar feeling to it which is a direct contrast to tennis courts and generic hotels. The Applebee’s provides a feeling of home and safety that is appealing to the visiting tennis players. It works well for the characters of Tashi and Art and reflects how their relationship would become a safe space for Art but limiting and dull at times for Tashi.
The film’s ambiguous ending where it’s unclear who has won the match, shows how winning is not everything because all three gain something bigger in the end. As the final match intensifies we see Art slam the ball and collide with Patrick over the net where the two tightly embrace while Tashi is cheering from the stands. It does not matter who really wins the game but that Patrick and Art are able to come together and be fine with losing, while Tashi gets what she wanted from the start which is to watch some “good f***king tennis”.
Challengers is not necessary a tennis sports film but uses tennis to show relationship and power dynamics from the characters. This could be the film of the spring. The fun, exciting and sporty nature of the film will leave audiences rushing to their local sporting goods store and taking up tennis. The film has a lot of things going for it and is definitely worth a watch.
Monique Dhillon is currently finishing her Communications Degree at Simon Fraser University while working as Entertainment Reporter at DESIBUZZCanada.
