Challengers

I simply can never get tired of this film. I love how everything fits together like perfect puzzle pieces. Not one piece out of order, aligning together and forming a love triangle for the ages. Everyone in this film is a little terrible, but the audience will find something to like about them in their own way. Patrick is an overconfident toxic manchild, but his charming and blunt nature draws you in; Art is a quiet, resigned person who can navigate any situation, turning the odds in his favor, and Tashi, a determined, talented, and intelligent woman who plays on both men's attraction to her for her amusement, whether it be emotional sadism or good fucking tennis, she is crafting a scenario where she appears on top. Watching each character interact with one another is fascinating. They are the only people who bring something of interest in their life. Tashi will be with her child or mother-in-law and will not have much emotional display, but with Art or Patrick, she comes alive, breathing in each scene with her commanding presence. I especially love the way each actor's face is captured in close-ups with tormented eyes filling the frame draped in sweat and silence. I love watching these toxic people fight over each other. It makes for delicious cinema.