Challengers

I never would have expected to be so happy to be a fucking tennis ball. So this is an overdue review in a couple ways, since I'm writing this a week after seeing the movie and I put off writing a proper review of this film until my third watch as well. But this is a film that really deserves a more comprehensive review, and so this is me giving it one. Something to start off with that I feel like has to be spotlighted first and foremost is the characters. Tashi, Art, and Patrick are all such interesting, complicated, and fully realized characters brought to life by fantastic performances from each of their respective actors. The attitudes that they all bring to the table, their little turns of phrase, their mannerisms, the way they even LOOK at each other betrays so much about what each of them means to each other and what matters to them. It's a careful balancing act as well, because this being a love triangle movie the dynamic is so dependent on all of them being compelling and having a real stake in the story being told, and it's pulled off beautifully. I also have to commend the film for the nonlinear story that it tells, with the audience's perspective being whipped around back and forth in such a jagged way that feels like you're flying across the tennis court as the characters and the different relevant aspects of their lives go flying back and forth. We go from the present to the past, back to the present, and to the past again in such a sharp way that nonetheless feels perfect for the flow of information in the film, with no beat being confusing or unmotivated and the flow of information feeling constant but never overwhelming. Even within a particular scene, we're frequently getting insert shots, unexpected close-ups, and abrupt scene transitions to carry over the energy of one scene into the next. But even so, this is a film that still knows when to pump the brakes a little bit and let a scene play out in a oner, to just let the actors tear it up and allow the camera to follow the arc of a scene unimpeded by cutting away or within it. No matter if it's the performances or the edit, the story and its energy is constantly being carried forward from start to finish. To that point, the pacing is among the best in any movie I've ever seen. I've spent nearly seven hours watching this film, and it feels like every time I sit down to watch it I lose all sense of time and it's over in what feels like it couldn't possibly have been more than an hour. A lot of the phenomenal pacing is owed to how dynamic and creative a lot of the choices are in the film as well, with nothing ever overstaying its welcome and with so many of the aspects of the film doing things that have been technically possible for years, but which no one ever thought to combine in this way. For example, the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is so absurdly energetic and sexy and intense and yet incredibly reserved and sentimental in the moments that it needs to be as well, with some fantastic licensed music being thrown in to supplement the score where relevant. It's a score that's closest to house, a genre that I really don't love all that much, but the way that it's being applied to this story is so pointed and tense that it only ever ratchets up the tension to an otherwise unfathomable degree. Another great example of this creativity on display is of course in the cinematography. The look of the games, the dialogue, the sexier scenes, and especially the games is so deliberate and energetic and motivated by perspective and what that moment means to the story. A great example of this is in one of Tashi's games that she plays, the camera stays zoomed in on her, locked to her face as she vengefully slams the ball back across the court hit after hit, the only instance in the film that a rally is shot like this. We need to see how locked in she is and how much emotion she's putting into her swings in a way that you just can't get across with a wider shot, and this goes on to inform the purpose of the scene and the greater arc and worldview of her character. I could go on and on for examples like that, but in the interest of brevity (good joke I know) and keeping this spoiler free I'll move on there. The way that this is a period piece as well feels like it has such a modern sensibility to it and such a special flavor when it comes to the sets, the hair, the costumes, and the props. Hell, when I'm getting flashbacks to old Gatorade branding and I'm not upset about it in the least, that's how I know the product placement is being done well. There's genuinely so much product placement in this film that it could make your head spin trying to keep track of it, but it all fits so well and is never centralized or included in an unnecessary way. That's simply to say that there's a special time-capsule-esque quality to this film that few ever can capture, where the movie knows that it exists in a historical context, and rather than fighting to be seen as undateable it revels in its place in time, letting its setting exist in a way movies feel scared to do nowadays. Thematically as well there's a ton to dig into of course, with each of our leads having significantly different outlooks on the world and life and the movie doing a great job not to vindicate any one of them. To be as non-spoilery as possible, the question being asked by the film is what do you value in life? Do you value competition and greatness? Do you value love and security? Do you value beauty and friendship? These different sets of values aren't necessarily incompatible, but the ways that the characters pursue these values and the natural course of their lives and careers bring them into conflict in incredibly nuanced and at times surprising ways. It never ceases to amaze though, and it never feels out of place or jarring when these ideals come into tension with each other. Well I think I've spun my wheels as much as I can without going into an embarrassing level of detail about how much I like this movie. I love it a lot, and I think that it's a perfect film and it's earned a spot on my favorites list for a reason. See this on a huge screen with the best sound possible; it deserves it. P.S. - Keep an eye out for a new round-robin favorites list coming soon to shake up my favorites. It's long overdue and I'm excited to have that done so I can feel more ok about my favorites' rankings again.