Zendaya swaps the hot desert sands of Arrakis for the scorching heat of the tennis court. She leads the best movie of the year so far with the terrific Challengers
2023 could actually have been the biggest year of Zendaya’s career. However, due to the actors’ strike in Hollywood, both of her major films were postponed by a year. The first of these, Dune: Part Two, opened in cinemas at the end of February and proved to be a crowd-puller. To date, the sci-fi epic is the most successful film of 2024, but is it also the best?
Not so fast: Zendaya has another film in store that could have a say in this question. Challengers will probably not be able to reach the Dune figures. But you won’t find a more captivating screen experience than the sports drama directed by Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino any time soon. Challengers is an absolute blast of movement and emotion
Zendaya masterpiece at the movies: Dune lacks water, Challengers is all about sweat
The first thing you need to know about Challengers is the sweat pouring down the faces of the characters as they move through the frame with athletic precision. There’s Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), for example, whose dripping blonde hair flings about as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other on the tennis court. Or Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), over whose angular cheeks torrents slide.
Here you can watch the trailer for Challengers:
The two are best friends and a well-rehearsed team. You would think that their sweat drops are just as coordinated as the tactical moves and punches with which they effortlessly put their opponents in their place. But then Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) enters the court and all the ease with which they have braved the sporting madness up to now disappears from their lives forever.
The pulsating score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross takes on a menacing aura and pushes the friends into a merciless competition that is about more than just points. Both have fallen head over heels in love with Tashi. And both go above and beyond to impress the sought-after up-and-coming star. But Tashi has her own goals and turns the game into a fight for survival.
Erotic psychological thriller instead of inspiring sports film: Luca Guadagnino takes no prisoners
Sports films rarely lack dramatic events that are staged with larger-than-life gestures. Especially in an underdog story, there is hardly anything more exciting than experiencing the exact moment in the final minutes that was considered impossible for two hours. However, the exaggeration with which Guadagnino works in Challengers takes place on a completely different level.
(Zendaya in Challengers)
Challengers is not just a sports drama. It’s a curious coming-of-age movie that has strayed into the cave of a psychological thriller and is now considering whether it’s okay to tell a love story in this dark place. Or should it be completely absorbed in the body cinema on display? Not an easy question, especially when erotic tension of unbearable proportions prevails in every scene.
Contrary to the white lines that neatly divide the tennis court, it soon becomes impossible to distinguish between sport and relationship, between career and feelings. Guadagnino designs the entire film like a match in which the yellow shining ball races towards us with such emotional force that you would like to duck down in the movie theater. But it’s impossible. The film is too hypnotizing.
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No tenderness: Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor take each other apart in Challengers
Although Challengers seems like Guadagnino’s most accessible directorial effort, it turns out a whole shade colder than his cannibalism tale Bones and All, which surprised with a raw tenderness between bloodied mouths. In Challengers, the tenderness has almost completely disappeared. Despite obvious longings and simmering lust, no one is allowed to show their vulnerable side.
(Challengers)
Instead, we follow gazes full of desire and ambition. The most innocent looks are those of Mike Faist, who threatens to break apart in the competition for love or profit. In West Side Story, he already lent jet leader Riff an unexpected melancholy, a quiet hesitation – and at the same time the impetuous drive of youth. In Challengers, he brings together an even wider range of emotions with a tragic touch.
Opposite him is Josh O’Connor, who tries to cover up the down-and-out and broken nature of his character with gruffness and hunger. A stark contrast to the absent-minded wandering of his protagonist in La Chimera, which is also currently showing in cinemas. The closed-mindedness he exudes in God’s Own Country and as Prince Charles in The Crown gives way to a desperate energy.
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And then there’s Zendaya and the unpredictability she carries into the movie. Alongside Rue in the HBO series Euphoria, Tashi gives her most impressive performance to date. A moment ago she was a seductive presence, now her eyes sparkle with judgment, punishment and menace. Nothing is easier than falling in love with her. The next day’s awakening proves all the more terrifying.
