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REVIEW: "Challengers"

 Challengers is a movie that's actually "hard" to review because there are elements I truly loved and others... not so much. And while it's fair to say it isn't a perfect movie, it sure is a solid one. It's sexy, vibrant and fueled by its charismatic three leads - Challengers is a winning match for director Luca Guadagnino.

Guadagnino is no stranger to complex characters and plays with three depicable people in this film by creating an intriguing love triangle between an alpha woman, an unapologetic bissexual and a cute guy who proves to be a manipulative mastermind... and I believe this is giving a lot away already. While explaining the nature of their connections might be too much of a spoiler since the movie's narrative is exactly a study about how these three characters connect and have connected before, it's no crime to say that the narrative goes in two main lines and a secondary one, made mostly of flashbacks. That's the way Guadagnino presents the audiences all the valid reasons for these characters' obsession with each other. 
It's a complex narrative style that might not work for everyone, but it worked well enough for me (not a big fan of a back-and-forth storytelling) since I believe the movie wouldn't be as well-paced as it ended-up being. In fact, Challengers is a nice cinematic ride: it adds some kind of pace that allows both character development and an audience-friendly tempo at the same time. The tennis scenes are true action sequences that offer thrills and some nail biting moments, yet the true highlights are the erotic scenes that display the power dynamics between characters. In fact, Challengers doesn't have a single sex scene, yet it manages to be sexier, hornier and (sometimes) arousing than most so-called "erotic thrillers" - so, does it qualify as a romantic-comedy? Maybe yes, actually.
In terms of performances, Zendaya is the clear star, exuding true leading lady charisma and a ferocious intensity as Tashi (it's her only truly relevant performance on-film and her second best work after Euphoria TV series), yet the best acting turn of the movie comes from Josh O'Connor (who has already proven himself in God's Own Country and The Crown TV series), who's able to build a character both heartbreaking yet filthy-minded - he embraces Patrick Zweig's many layers and choses to portray him as a flawed impulsive man rather than the story's villain, which made him my champion from Challengers. Still, let's not underappreciate Mike Faist's (Spielberg's West Side Story MVP) work here since he was given the least fiery character, but he managed to win the audiences as the sweetest person in the dirty narrative game. Three winning performances (only Zendaya doesn't convince as a mother, but that's a minor flaw).
Technically, Challengers is quite well-made! With a fantastic score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, the scenes are elevated by the eletronic and heavy beats, which gives them a major dramatic and exhilarating tone (and the sound department matches the greatness of the score and it never shies in its mixing and edition). Interesting cinematography choices and a top-notch editing work by Marco Costa elevate the tennis scenes, specially the very last one!
So, Challengers is well-worth the admission ticket. I don't consider it to be some kind of masterpiece nor to top Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, but I admit this is the kind of movie that might grow on me. It's watchable, it's well-made, with very good acting and a killer score... I am sure I will want to watch it again sometime.
"It's all about tennis!" - in and out of the tennis court.


RATING: 8 / 10

Oscar potential:
  • Best Actor (Josh O'Connor)
  • Best Editing
  • Best Original Score
  • Best Sound
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