I watched Challengers; Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s latest drama/sport/romance film at a special London screening several days ago. The host for the evening mentioned knowing at least two people who have watched Challengers five or more times. Initially, I found this hard to believe. But, now that my thoughts about director Luca Guadagnino’s film have settled, I can admit that I see how one might be so moved to engage in multiple viewings, maybe even in relatively quick succession. And that’s without the viewer having to be a super fan of the lead actors. 

Before I explain the above, the Challengers story follows Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), a former tennis prodigy turned coach and her relationship with two best friends over several years; the kind that culminates in an all-important tennis match. 

Challengers is a well-acted and undeniably sexy sports film, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. The way Guadagnino shoots his actors is very engaging and the exciting camera angles plus complementary music help to this end. I must also add that all fans of the human body – the way it moves, especially the male physique will not be mad while watching Challengers. Granted, I could only be speaking for myself here, but I doubt it. 

It will also be hard not to notice how Tashi moves on the Tennis court, especially at the height of her pro tennis career. Absolute confidence if I’ve ever seen it. 

Challengers is edited well, even with the switching back and forth from a week ago to 13 years ago, to the present day, to 12 years ago and back again. You will certainly need to pay attention to keep up. But it will likely all be worth it because of the tension and suspense in that final tennis match. Masterful is the word, and I barely even understand the game.

Thank goodness that my initial thoughts of ‘Where is this going?’ at the start of the film ended up meaning little because I became more and more engaged as the movie played.

For tennis fans, watch Challengers to see your favourite sport at its arguably sexiest yet. For everyone else, do it for all the other reasons mentioned earlier, including seeing the creative ways that one can capture a seemingly straightforward scene. 

Happy Film Loving, 

G