This one’s been out for a fair bit, but I wanted to catch it before it left cinemas. It’s pretty darn great. Check it out.
If some high-flying fashion company like Gucci or Armani (other high-flying fashion companies are available) were commissioned to produce a high-quality perfume advert about tennis, then it’d probably look something like this. Lots of super attractive actors, plenty of slow-motion shots and close ups, a fair number of raunchy moments, plus a darn fine soundtrack to top everything off. Although it’s a lot more coherent than your average perfume advert, and more feature length. And the music isn’t always top tier in those adverts. Which it is here.
But no, this is the newest effort from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino. You thought that peach was hot? Well, get ready for tennis courts. Said no one ever. Anyway, the plot centres around a love triangle between up-and-coming tennis players Tashi, Patrick and Art, which plays out in flashbacks and fast forwards as friendships are broken and tensions rise. Sports biopics aren’t exactly few and far between, so props to Guadagnino for crafting a work that feels original and dynamic. A big part of that electricity is due in part to the actors’ electric chemistry, with steamy drama in the bedroom blending seamlessly into the battles on court.
The pumping electro soundtrack, courtesy of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (who collaborated with Guadagnino on his previous visceral horror Bones and All), only enhances the tension, with final banger ‘Compress/Repress’ providing a dynamic denouement to the nail-biting final moments. The composers have already shown their worth in numerous films over their considerable careers, often surpassing the content of their respective projects (hot take: their soundtracks for The Social Network and Gone Girl exceed the narrative quality of the overall films). As Challengers’ characters burst into verbal sparring on the screen, jagged bits of synth come to the fore to emphasise their discord, evoking the ambient chaos provided by Underworld in Trainspotting.
Colourful, frenetic and endlessly engaging as it time hops between intense matches on and off the pitch, Challengers is a thrilling, refreshing change from the norm. Ace.