Two men, one woman, a tennis court. The camera races to one person, then to the other, searching wildly across the court, sweat dripping in the close-up, both of them getting into position in the long shot, the score by Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross blaring above. It’s all or nothing! Before we even meet his protagonists, Luca Guadagnino, the master stager, builds the most amount of tension. Little by little, the history of this all-important match, which will decide the future of the three, is revealed in interlaced flashbacks. Once again.

In college, Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) play doubles, but when the two of them fall in love with soon-to-be tennis star Tashi (Zendaya), the platonic duo becomes an erotic threesome and the friends turn into bitter rivals. Their paths diverge. A bit like GONE WITH THE WIND, CHALLENGERS follows highly charged encounters in which the three-way constellation is constantly being renegotiated. At first it seems as if the laid-back, better-looking Patrick has the upper hand, then Art, more solid, dedicated, disciplined, comes into play and has a great career, while Patrick becomes increasingly sidelined. Then Art’s career comes to a halt and Tashi, who is now his wife and coach, organizes a match in the B-league. One that Art should easily win – until Patrick emerges from obscurity. In the middle, between the men, Tashi is the trophy, the match ball, the tip of the scales and coolly calculates her next moves.

One women, two men fighting over here, and a second-rate tennis game as the simplest metaphor for their rivalry: Luca Guadagnino directs what is at its heart a banal farce as if it was about life and death, with grand gestures and furious pomp. The camera cuts back and forth no less than three times as Art and Pat see the incredible beauty of Tashi for the first time, and when two ex-lovers meet, a storm comes and devastates the old order. Is Guadagnino being serious? Is he joking? It's hard to say, but it's definitely entertaining. In any case, Guadagnino himself sees his film as a “romantic sports comedy.”

Hendrike Bake

Translation: Elinor Lewy