Though much of the talk about Luca Guadagnino’s popular tennis movie is about how sexy it is, I found myself fixating on those elements that spoke to the characters’ class and wealth—or lack thereof. A number of reviewers have said that while Guadagnino tends to pile on the luxury accoutrements, he isn’t really interested in exploring the financial circumstances of his characters, but you can’t really tell a love story like Challengers without addressing the characters’ material circumstances. The three leads, aggressive, self-centered Patrick (Josh O’Connor), more down-to-earth but no less competitive Art (Mike Faist), and the woman they share early in their collective relationship, Tashi (Zendaya), were all at one time positioned to become top professional tennis players, though only Art has actually made it that far. As King Richard made abundantly clear in showing what the Williams sisters were up against, tennis pros tend to be the products of privileged upbringings, and during the temporally early portions of this very flashback-driven movie, all three characters appear to be well-off. As the story moves through time, however, Patrick gets stuck at the bottom of the rankings and his career continues to stall. By the time he enters the Challenger tournament, which provides the climax to the film, he’s practically hit rock bottom, sleeping in his car and skipping meals. But even Art and Tashi, who are now married, seem to be living their lives in hotel rooms they can barely afford, and when Art himself enters the Challenger tournament, it’s because his game has fallen off in recent years and he needs an easy win to boost his confidence.

So while the matchup between Patrick and Art is framed as a kind of reckoning—the two were best buddies and champion doubles partners before Tashi entered their lives—there is also something seriously at stake in the game, namely their futures. Even if Art does get his mojo back, he’s now in his 30s; his years as a pro are numbered. Meanwhile, this tournament is absolutely Patrick’s last chance. Tashi, of course, is in Art’s corner, but she plays on Patrick’s affections—they were lovers before she married Art—to get him to see the light and perhaps throw the match in favor of his old friend, a gambit that, given what we know about Patrick’s volatile temperament, seems foolish. As a plot device it’s also trite. There’s a lot to the love story that doesn’t make sense in Justin Kuritzkes’ script, and Guadagnino doesn’t seem to care. He’s more invested in the bodies of our protagonists and the mechanics of a tennis match, even if a lot of the amazing camera shots he accomplishes don’t jibe with what I learned in physics class. With Trent Reznor’s and Atticus Ross’s techno score setting the rhythms of the volleys with deafening precision, there’s the feeling that Guadagnino means to have the last word on how to shoot a tennis movie, even though in interviews he has said he finds the game boring. That would explain a lot, including how unrealistic the romantic components are. Even the famous scene where Tashi teases her two suitors at the same time and they end up making out with each other doesn’t really lead to anything. The homoerotic aspects of the two men’s relationship are a given, but the hotness is reserved for the court and I suppose that hotness explains the ending, which can be interpreted any number of ways but nevertheless leaves us hanging as to the actual result of the game. After all, the dramatic rationale of the previous two hours completely hinges on the outcome of this one match.

So the lack of resolution renders much of the story useless in retrospect. Tashi, who was the best athlete of the three when they weren’t entangled, has had to channel her competitive spirit through Art ever since an injury ended her career before it even started, so her manipulation of these two horndogs has real meaning for the plot. Likewise, Patrick’s lingering desire for Tashi after she marries Art provides the requisite tension—will they or won’t they? Only Guadagnino and Kuritzkes know for sure, and they’re being coy. As much as I enjoyed the movie for its sense of fun and realistic approach to sex, it doesn’t work as a sports movie, probably because Guadagnino seems to hate sports movies. Obviously, he was trying to prove something, and he probably thinks he did, but I can’t see what it is. 

Now playing in Tokyo at Marunouchi PIccadilly (050-6875-0075), Shinjuku Piccadilly (050-6861-3011), Human Trust Cinema Shibuya (03-5468-5551), Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills (050-6868-5024).

Challengers home page in Japanese

photo (c) 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.