Challengers

absolutely electrifying, that’s the one word i had in mind throughout the whole runtime. ive never really loved any Guadagnino film i’d seen before (Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All) but Challengers has absolutely won me over. for me, what makes this film is how inherently erotic it is. the close-ups, drawn out sequences and music choices dial that up to no end; we, as spectators, are plunged into the thick tension between Art, Patrick and Tashi, we feel all of it.  as for them, there is a lot to be said. on the fundamental level, it goes like this: Tashi’s great love is tennis, Art’s is Tashi and Patrick’s is himself. but, of course, it’s more complex than that, for all of them, their sense of self, purpose and loving are closely intertwined, closely enough that the lines blur. let’s start with Tashi. as i stated before, her main goal, her everything is tennis, both for the love of the sport itself and the acclaim she gains from it. however she’s nicked of that with her injury. Art thus intervenes as a placeholder for the glory she missed on, he’s perfect because of his smiting for her. let’s make it clear though, she doesn’t really love him,(at the beginning at least) she only wants to be loved and good at tennis, we see that with the “Game Changer” “Game Changers” thing. Art’s purpose articulates around the others’ perception of him: his devotion to Tashi and the push and tug relationship he has with Patrick.  Patrick is the unfitting cog to the machine of their marriage, and the most interesting, in my opinion. fundamentally, him and Tashi are the same: ego-driven and wanting to be adored, i also believe neither her or Patrick can love in the regular/romantic way, which is why she’s both attracted and repulsed by him, longing to be understood but dreading to face her truths.  then, the whole Patrick and Art thing, yes, you guessed it: gay subtext, yippee! (tbf it’s not even subtext atp) their fight over Tashi can be seen as a way to get back at each other, and there is undeniably tension. Patrick’s a wild card because he sees both of them and he’s not afraid to face them either.  im getting tired (it’s 2am) so the last thing i’ll say is that Challengers is a filmmaking gem: be it the use of music, the shots, the slomos or anything else. cinematographically challenging and profound, every choice was compelling and made sense. huge props to Guadagnino. oh and btw, after that they all moved in together in a somewhat happy and healthy throuple.