Mirror review: Challengers

Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, Challengers, brings its audience through a constantly evolving love triangle between three tennis prodigies, tracking their highs, lows, and everything in between. The ensuing drama leads up to a U.S Open tennis match between two old friends, and reveals their backstory through a series of flashbacks.

The film opens with retired tennis star Tashi Donaldson (Zendaya) coaching her husband Art (Mike Faist), a tennis champion who appears to be less successful in recent days. In an attempt to get back on the up and up, he has entered a challenger tournament (a type of B-list tournament). While in New York, the married couple reconnect with Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Conner), the third member of their complicated love triangle. Art and Patrick had been friends since attending tennis academy together as kids, and through their teenage years had become the closest of friends. Everything changed when at 18 years old, the boys met Tashi, an upcoming tennis star. From then the movie's timeline bounces all over the place, recapping their time as teenagers, into adulthood and their present experiences at the U.S Open Tennis match. 

Challengers has one of the most unique timelines and narrative structure I have ever seen. The non-sequential flashbacks keep you intrigued and I found myself working to put the puzzle pieces together as the film went on. The mood of the film falls in between comedy and serious drama, allowing your emotions to feel the best of both worlds. But most of all, the acting and portrayment of all three main characters was phenomenal. Writer Justin Kuritzkes crafted three differing personalities, and every action fit the character perfectly. 

Tennis athletes are especially pleased with the accuracy of how the sport is portrayed in the film. These scenes contain so much more than just tennis; they depict the true intensity and emotion felt by tennis players during a match. Gaudagnino and Kuritzkes crafted the perfect sports romance of the year, leaving viewers highly satisfied.