THE “WORLD’S” OPINION – NOT TO BE MISSED
In Guadagnino, the desire fails to implode the most civilized universes. Let us cite the sensual debauchery ofLove (2010), cannibalism as a metaphor for the devouring of love in the rather unsuccessful Bones and All (2022) and its greatest success, Call Me by Your Name (2017), which orchestrated, under the dodger, a homosexual passion between a Viscontian ephebe and a family friend. With the filmmaker, there is constantly a rivalry between the explosion of the senses and the icy surface of the most aristocratic circles – with him, we sometimes border on the WASP aesthetic of a Ralph Lauren ad.
That the scenario of Challengers, by the young playwright Justin Kuritzkes, arrives in his hands with all the evidence: the plot takes place in the very competitive world of tennis, where a very Lubitschian love triangle is orchestrated. Tashi (Zendaya, who also produced the film) is a former tennis player who had to give up her career very early on after a serious injury. She now takes care of that of her husband, Art (Mike Faist), who, losing momentum, decides to register for the second division Challenger tournament.
He prepares to confront Patrick (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend. This is where the past resurfaces, plunging into the blessed era of the twenties, when Patrick and Art were never apart: they played together, climbing the ranks of the amateur rankings one by one. The future belongs to them. During an amateur tournament, he meets the splendid Tashi, the darling of the community: on the court, they are dazzled by her game, as much as by her beauty, and decide to take it on.
Rivalry and sweat
With great virtuosity and without ever losing us too much, the film collides these two eras, a golden age and a gloomy present, counting the lost illusions, while observing the way in which desire is the only thing which has not worn out over time. We owe to Justin Kuritzkes the elegance of a scenario where the sporting competition and the matches are dramaturgical elements in their own right. The tennis court is like a theater stage invaded by libido, itself intensifying through contact with rivalry and sweat. Some great feature films that filmed this sport then resurface: The Unknown of the Nord-Expressby Hitchcock (1951), from which the film takes up its sumptuous homoerotic tension, or the little-known Game, set and matchby Ida Lupino (1951).
You have 34.75% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.