Everything you need to know about Challengers
Having seen this movie 25 times — i consider myself something of an expert. let me share my knowledge with you.
I cannot express how much I love a good metaphor. There is such power in the ability to perfectly utilize a literary device and everyone in Challengers (directed by Luca Guadignino) is doing so. The whole film has this overwhelming intensity that is yes, erotic, but it’s also paralyzing. These people have put their whole hearts, minds, and souls into a game that also requires them to give their bodies. The deeper layer this film is working on that weaves together their whole lives and backgrounds substantiates that.
And not to mention the utterly gripping performances here. They were hot, they were powerful, they were playful, they were smart. Zendaya’s portrayal of Tashi in particular was one that stood out. Her character was always so steadfast and certain of not only her next move, but her opponents’. Art (Mike Faist) says in the beginning that she sees the game differently and this is a fact of the movie.
I love the many homage to other older referential queer films like Rope and the Talented Mr. Ripley because those older Hollywood styles of filmmaking lend themselves particularly well to subtlety. That being said this movie is also extremely in your face and gave me a similar anxious itch like with Uncut Gems.
This movie gives us as viewers so much to chew on and grapple with. Often in real time because the way that this movie is cut means that we are constantly on our back foot. Constantly mentally running to catch up. The entire runtime I was going back and forth on who I thought was going to win. Luca really makes sure that we as the audience work for it just as much as the characters.
I couldn’t help but notice how much Tashi changes. Zendaya masterfully ties each transformation together to feel like a natural continuation. Each time the swan song appears she goes through an obvious metamorphosis. The boys basically stay the same the entire time. Patrick (Josh O’Connor) remains cocky and smooth and Art seems unsure of himself and everything around him. Tashi, on the other hand, goes from this precocious up-comer to someone so steely and cutthroat.
Tashi’s mental health is in the dumps. I feel like her daughter, Lily (A.J. Lister), is the only thing that brings that lightness back to her. She feels plenty of emotions with tennis; anger, excitement, despair, desperation, desire, apathy even. And she feels virtually nothing for her husband. You could argue that she only feels resentment towards Patrick and only sleeps with him for the intense emotions that come with tennis. But suicide is constantly on Tashi’s mind.
At Applebees she makes the joke that Art thought she might kill herself but there’s this very sad truth to the sentiment. And when she argues with Patrick in the alley. She tells him to give up. Then to kill himself. And this cold line and its undeniably powerful delivery communicates to us in the audience that Tashi isn’t as good as she pretends to be.
It’s quite the extreme to jump to so casually in conversation and that callus nature towards herself is new. It wasn’t present in Tashi pre-Stanford. That darkness is actually only ever not present in Zendaya’s performance when Tashi is interacting with Lily. After the first match Art loses we see this switch. She goes from hardened coach trying to goad and manipulate her husband to sweet doting mother in the flip of a switch. But you actually believe her. She isn’t putting on a front for Lily.
Even when the young girl pushes back “you’re always talking about tennis” a line that would’ve made Tashi snap with anyone else, gets her to soften. She empathizes with her daughter and in those moments we get a glimpse at the humanity Tashi has hidden away alongside her dreams.
One of my favorite reactions from Tashi is in the alley scene with Patrick and she absolutely disgusted that he doesn’t remember her daughter’s name. He does this pathetic little snapping thing to recall the four letters and she looks at his hand like she wants to smack it into the brick wall and watch it explode. Understanding the significance of her daughter to her plays a big role in why she is so disgusted here.
Once again gonna talk about Zendaya’s performance. For the New Rochelle Phil’s Tire Town Challenger portions of the film it is pretty cool that she is basically giving a silent performance. And the buildup to her character finally saying something audible and notable is as intense as the match she is watching. Especially as she becomes more and more outwardly reactive. At first it’s coincidental how Tashi commands the screen. But by the present day, she not only has a hold on the frame but pushes it at will. This isn’t just her stepping into her power as she ages. It’s also her taking some of her anger out on the frame. Irritability is a key sign of depression and this one way Tashi displays that symptom.
Luca conveys how complex of a character Tashi is to the audience through the games we see the throuple play. They go from all being pieces on her chessboard to just having the boys as video game characters in her simulation. It’s a clear indication that these boys are being played with by Tashi and they love it.
The same way that Tashi compartmentalizes the boys into tennis and everything else is how she divides her family. Where Art is nothing but the tennis and Lily gets to be everything else. There are a few moments throughout the film where it feels like Tashi is faking her emotions; because she is. One of them is when she gives Art a reassuring look at the beginning of the match. It does what it needs to do but we as viewers are tapping into how this isn’t genuine. She doesn’t want to have to reassure him. She wants “to watch some good fucking tennis”. But if she has to look at him a certain way to get that then she will. Another instance of her faking it to get her way comes with the line “we’re out of beer”. In that moment Tashi puts on this hardened and steely persona but it’s not her own. She simply does it so that she can switch topics and get more intimate with the duo.
Tashi doesn’t let her vulnerabilities out easily. So it’s rather interesting when we do get to see those moments and how when she is truly at ease and her head isn’t swirling in grief for what she has lost and who she had to become as a result. For instance, when she puts Lily to bed we see her tenderly doting on her daughter and then get up to walk her mother out. But as Tashi gets up from her crouching position she bumps into the nightstand. A subtle way of showing us how her injury still affects her. But she doesn’t stew on it in that moment like when she applies lotion to her leg in the beginning of the film. She moves along like nothing happened. And I think this impenetrable character of Tashi Duncan is one that is so fascinating because we never really see her cry. She gets close once when she realizes the gravity of her injury but she closes that part of herself off before she can. The other time is at the end of the movie she is literally teary eyed at how good of a game it was and what that means for the three characters going forward. For a character who I would put on suicide watch there is something so beautiful about her only having tears of joy.
I believe that Patrick let his perception of Tashi block him from truly understanding her. Thus he lets his jealousy and insecurity rule over how he operates within their relationship which quickly led to her injury. And now he is still not in the place he wants to be and proves Tashi right with every passing year by just “coasting by on talent”.
Patrick never changes and we see that through him using the exact same racket brand. And we know Art becomes Tashi’s puppet because he winds up using her racket brand. The importance of brands, product placement, sponsorships, and capitalism is so awesome. Athletes are basically walking billboards and movies are basically two hour long ad spots and I think that Luca masterfully captures this bleak hold capitalism has on humanity.
A brilliant example of this is how we see Patrick sleeping in his beat down SUV with a fade to black. Like this is a television show with commercial breaks built in and the next scene over is basically a Dunkin Donuts ad. And as we all know; America runs on Dunkin. In the film’s words; America runs on money. And that is only furthered by the situation happening in the scene where Patrick asks for an advance on the winnings because he is so broke he can’t afford a place to sleep and he hasn’t showered in days based on his smell.
Then the scene is capped off with another cheeky ad spot this time by the Wilson brand, for Art. A much different sort of commercial. One that exudes success because she brings the wildcard up like it is titillating and dramatically presents the racket with his face on it because there is excitement and buzz around this guy. Where one brand brings you what you need when you need it; the other propels you into success like those you look up to.
This movie also establishes a very interesting relationship with the brand adidas. At the start of the timeline Tashi is not only sponsored by them, but is a big deal for them. She has whole ad campaigns centered around her. As the timeline progresses Adidas’ prominence withers away with Tashi’s career. Stanford is a Nike school so that gains prominence instead. When Tashi’s injury occurs she is wearing a Nike outfit with Adidas shoes. Art in this time period is wearing all Nike. He wears whatever brand sponsors him as compared to Patrick who seems to wear whatever he can get his hands on.
In the present day Tashi wears luxury designer brands like Chanel shoes and Cartier love bracelets. And there is something so significant about Tashi wearing both the men’s and women’s Cartier love bracelets and a friendship bracelet from her daughter. Art, however, is wearing the Uniqlo brand. The brand to him doesn’t matter so long as he can wear it head to toe because they pay for as much.
Beverages are also an interesting aspect to this C.R.E.A.M motif Luca is weaving in. When the boys watch Tashi’s match at the Juniors they drink from Pepsi cups but when they watch her dance at the party they are drinking Coke brand products. An interesting divide between Tashi on and off the court and between the boys.
Another example of how drinks are used in addition to this theme is when Patrick visits them at Stanford. He drinks a rockstar energy drink. Partly because they are driving the point home about his rockstar personality but also to show how he differs from these relatively clean cut athletes. They drink Evian water and Gatorade. He smokes cigarettes and drinks energy drinks. They stay at the Ritz; he uses tinder to find an airbnb.
Another example of this motif in the film is the scene at Applebee’s. There is a familiarity to this scene because all things American occur at chain restaurants. The billboard even says they will see us tomorrow. But also because Art and Tashi are reconnecting here. They rekindle something very tender in a place that feels so distinctly like home. It’s nostalgia. It’s safe. The train passing by in the background only highlights this.
And not to mention the Americana of cars. Art’s Jeep Wrangler presumably new. Patricks much older SUV. Brand ambassadors for Aston Martin. It’s clear that this is about class ascension.
Art is a master manipulator. He revels in being needy and people naturally wanting to look out for him. Art actively revels in having people do his bidding. He spits his gum into Patrick and Tashi’s hand before playing because it pumps him up. It gives him that confidence boost. He is more powerful because you are nothing but a hand begging for offerings from the king. Tashi even uses this method to console herself for what she’s about to do with Patrick, only she doesn’t have any gum so she spits on him. You think he’s a nice guy, but only because he tells you he is.
He uses his dorky boyish nature to charm as much as possible. But what happens when people need something from him? He falls apart. One thing I noticed was Art never curses or acts ungentlemanly around Tashi. Only when he is beyond stressed out at the challenger does he swear and almost throw his racket. But around Patrick he smokes, he curses, he doesn’t act like Prince Charming.
This royal behavior is not reciprocated though. Tashi swears around and at him. She has no regard for being perfect for him, she's just herself and he accepts that. This reveals to us as viewers that Art is afraid that if he’s not perfect he will lose Tashi.
He also gets off on being a better person than Tashi and Patrick. When they were younger this looked like being the quintessential nice guy. The sweet one. The one who had a good head on his shoulders.
Now this looks like being the one who wants to slow down. The one who wants to bask in the glory. The one who rushes to propose with his grandmother’s ring after she has passed away. Where Tashi and Patrick are flagrant in their manipulation. Art is conniving; he uses their empathy against them in a way that they hardly see at all. So when he lashes out like with Patrick in the sauna it is even more of a slap because it shows he can be just as ruthless as they are he just chooses a different approach.
We even see this when he asks Tashi to be his assistant coach. He leads the conversation in an emotional place but dodges the biggest emotional bullet. He asks her to be his coach because he wants to win, but he gets her to be his coach by making her feel needed.
There’s this subtle through line throughout the film where each character has their greater desires in life laid out for them by another character. For Art we get this fairly early; Tashi asks him if he’d rather be just another rich person who runs a foundation full time. He denies this claim verbally but we know under the surface this mundanity is what he craves. For Patrick this moment comes in Tashi’s dorm room. She offers him some free coaching and he says he doesn’t want her to be his coach. Only to turn around and ask her to be his coach many years later. Tashi’s ultimate desire is also revealed in that dorm room. Patrick contemplates if Tashi needs someone to be her biggest fan and supporter. Tashi challenges Patrick and this notion. But when she goes to her match later that day she confirms his suspicions. She looks over at her section not once, like at the junior US Open, but twice — only to see the gaping hole that Patrick has left.
These characters are deeply insecure. They struggle to express their desires outwardly and often let these hidden needs eat them alive. For Tashi we see plenty of faking it and as her ability to fake it fades away we see this darkened look festering deep in her eyes. In the hotel scene she downs the beer quickly, a show of chutzpah, but if we look at the actions she takes to do so — she’s nervous, treading undiscovered waters, and is acting based on what she thinks she should be doing. Even in all of the sports telecaster dialogue they mention her and use her full name in relation to being Art’s coach. As she marks up the Aston Martin ad she discreetly conveys to us that she does not want to be forgotten or sidelined. Even the ad itself doesn't have her positioned behind Art or below him. She’s equal. She adds the letter ‘S’ because she is still in this game — and she will not be forgotten. That would kill her.
Art’s insecurity plays out in comparison to Patrick. He underestimates his own tennis abilities because he isn’t as flagrant and showy as Patrick. He underestimates his ability to ‘get the girl’ because Patrick has a girlfriend and is able to rile Tashi up easier. But as we see in the hotel scene Tashi is quite taken by Art and how smooth he is. “Aren’t you everybody’s type?” and she looks at Patrick as if to say “this motherfucker is good”. But he can’t comprehend this as anything more than rejection. He literally needs to spit his gum into the hand of those he feels insecure in comparison to in order to play tennis. This is why he stands in their hotel room practically begging Tashi to still love him after he retires.
And for our sweet summer child Patrick his boisterous personality and arrogance is deep seated insecurity. He’s afraid of winning the US Open and being doomed to be some star who shined bright and burned fast. His overconfidence and cockiness causes him to misstep several times with Tashi — and we see that look of understanding his social snafus cross his face in those moments. But especially when he is in the sauna with Art. Where he wags his dick in Art’s face and tells the guy who is one title away from a career slam that it is embarrassing he too is playing at the Phil’s Tire Town tournament. And when Art shuts that arrogance down and renounces any semblance of friendship between the two of them, that despair crosses Patrick’s face once more.
The writing in this film is simply awesome. There are so many little nuggets of foreshadowing and clairvoyance but it never beats you over the head. And the movie is so unbelievably funny. Tashi was probably the funniest character to me - saying she would kill a child or an old lady for Art’s type of recovery when her daughter and mother are just in the other room.
The lead in conversation before they go down to the beach is one that so excellently reveals their motivations. Tashi asks what they are doing at her party when they have a final tomorrow. “Shouldn’t you be training” she asks. Patrick cocky as always says that they both know how it’s gonna go. But most interestingly Art dismisses the value of the tournament they are in. He sees it as a pit stop. It’s just the juniors.
This interaction reveals the underlying motivator of all three characters. Money. In other words, access to opportunity. Tashi comes from less than the boys and she is the older sister to two brothers. Every opportunity she is afforded is one she has to take full advantage of. She has to win, she has to progress, she has to excel. Not just for herself, but for others. Compared to Patrick and Art who come from a privileged background. They go to a prestigious tennis academy and have endless opportunities. Nothing is do or die for them.
Art has never struggled in his entire life. From tennis academy at age twelve to Stanford to a two time winner of the Australian Open. Life has always worked out for him. This hinders his tennis. He doesn’t have that same natural talent that Tashi and Patrick have and he never acquires that drive that he needs. This lack of motivation separates him from them, where they want to win everything possible - he is playing percentage tennis. He doesn’t know what he wants because he has always gotten everything he ever needed. And when there is something that he wants he has no clue how to go about getting it.
Patrick is similar to Art. That being said, in the beginning he has no concept of what separates him from Tashi. But once he is aware of this class disparity he seeks to replicate it. So Patrick plays poor for the entirety of his tennis career. But this artificial drive is just that; a front. Patrick is masquerading as poor because he thinks it gives him that edge and motivation but it’s all just a farce. He doesn’t need it like Tashi needed it. There is no weight on his shoulders. There is nobody relying on him not only winning to change their life but to be their meal ticket as well. Nobody relies on Patrick the way they relied on Tashi.
One part in particular stuck out to me. When they are in the room after the party and Patrick tells the story of how he introduced Art to masturbation. Tashi asks about the girl they talked about and dismissively they insist the girl didn’t matter, nothing came in the form of a relationship, she got injured, she sucked. This story also applies to Tashi and the boys. She, unlike the girl from the anecdote, doesn’t suck at tennis - instead she sucked to be around. It’s a great moment because the filmmakers are telling us exactly what is going to happen and yet we are still gobsmacked when it happens. A very subtle Shakespearean nod.
This of course comes after we see this old gay couple ogle Patrick at the hotel. Another small nod to what could have been. What Patrick still yearns for. What Art has long forgotten. What Tashi can never be.
The last subtle indication of this love trifecta is after the first break of the match. Art squeezes this electrolyte goo into his mouth but Patrick eats a banana. It’s a cheeky way of saying Art prefers cunnilingus where Patrick prefers fellatio.
This movie is shot so beautifully. A riveting movie start to finish about passion and desire. Luca’s direction is impeccable and the performances are so intricate. Yeah x10 is correct.