If you’ve already seen the trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s (SUSPIRIA (2018)); CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) latest film, CHALLENGERS (and if you haven’t, it’s below), you’re probably already thinking that it’s going to be a sexy tale set against the backdrop of tennis. Certainly, there have been plenty of stories out this week calling the film “homoerotic”. That’s a bit reductive so I’m here to tell you that while CHALLENGERS is that, it’s also a whole lot more.

High schoolers Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor, G-D’S OWN COUNTRY; TV’s THE CROWN, sporting a pretty decent east coast American accent) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, WEST SIDE STORY) are not just the best of friends, they’re up-and-coming players on the junior tennis circuit. After winning the boys’ junior doubles title at the US Open, they meet Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, the DUNE films), the reigning queen of junior tennis and the object of both their sexual desires. With the boys playing against each other in the junior singles final the next day, Tashi tells them that she will give out her phone number to whoever wins. Over the following 13 years, the three cross paths repeatedly as their fortunes ebb and flow. They meet up again when Art and Patrick face off against each other in an invitational final. For the guys, it’s a must-win situation but for different reasons. For Tashi, she will do whatever she must to ensure Art wins, though her motivation for doing so may be self-serving.

Guadagnino and first-time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes (he’s the husband of filmmaker Celine Song (PAST LIVES)) serve up an ace with their horny-porny gay-ish story that has less to do with tennis than it does with wielding power. That’s not to say that the game isn’t on display here. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (SUSPIRIA; CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) shoots the various matches from unique and interesting angles, making the audience feel like they have courtside seats at something very special. In the film’s final match between Art and Patrick, Mukdeeprom gives audiences the ball’s perspective as it gets smashed, spins and sails back and forth across the net and gets generously dripped on with the players’ sweat… and there’s plenty of sweat here, and not just from Art and Patrick. CHALLENGERS has some scenes that are downright steamy!

O’Connor and Faist are excellent here but it’s Zendaya who takes the crown with her character’s icy manipulativeness cloaked under a killer haircut and impeccably tailored outfits. (I expect we’ll be seeing a number of women who have long hair heading to their salons in the coming weeks asking for the “Tashi”.) In an early scene when the three characters are still in their teens, Zendaya looks straight into the camera and gives a tiny smile that tells us everything we need to know about who Tashi is. Tashi isn’t a villain though, just as Art and Patrick aren’t her naïve pawns. They all have their agendas and they all seem to enjoy messing with each other’s heads as much as necessary to achieve their goals. That’s what makes this film so enjoyable. Adding to the mood is the evocative Giorgio Moroder-esque, synth-heavy score by two-time Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (SOUL; THE SOCIAL NETWORK). The pair, along with Kuritzkes, have teamed up with Guadagnino again for the director’s next feature, QUEER, starring Daniel Craig, which is expected out at the end of the year, meaning that the studio is positioning it as an awards contender.

CHALLENGERS opened in Hong Kong yesterday (May 1st). It will no doubt go to Amazon Prime Video sometime in early June but I’d say go see it now in the cinema. It’s definitely worth watching.

Thanks for reading but don’t be a lurker! If you liked what you just read, here are some suggestions:

Sign up to receive my movie reviews in your inbox automatically
Share this review on your Facebook page
Leave me a message telling me what you thought of my review or the film
Bookmark the site and visit often
Like my Howard For Film Facebook page
Watch my reviews on my YouTube page
Check out my Howard For Film magazine on Flipboard
Tell your friends about the site