Challengers

2024 | Luca Guadagnino | Zendaya | Cinema 2024 Probably the film of the year. Beating this will be hard. I had been looking forward to this a whole lot. Considering how much I love Guadagnino, this might’ve even been one of my most anticipated films of the year. Still, I didn’t expect this to beat any of Guadagnino’s other films. Lo and behold, it did. “Challengers” is an incredible film. Everything about this is perfect - no notes. The three lead performances are phenomenal. Zendaya is absolutely commanding and perfectly calculated. She’s fantastic. Josh O’Connor is fantastic too, delivering an endlessly charismatic performance. And the there is Mike Faist. I’ve been saying this since “West Side Story” and I’m still kinda bitter that he didn’t get more recognition for his role in that, but put the man in everything. He might very well be one of the most promising young actors we have right now and he again proves how fucking fantastic he is. And Guadagnino directs the shit out of this. Like if someone told him he’d die a horrible death if he didn’t make the most stylish film of all time. Seriously, the way he commands the screen and infuses this with so much panache and finesse is unbelievable. He’s so confident here and knows exactly what he wants at all times, but he always remains playful and super fresh and fun. If I didn’t overlook something, this is Justin Kuritzkes’ first screenplay and wow. That’s beyond impressive. The writing is really strong and constantly keeps you interested and engaged and is not only dramatic when it needs to be, but also super fun and queer. I love it. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s cinematography is to die for too. I love that this is shot on 35mm and that really pays off. This looks so much better than most modern films and the film look adds so much class and visual intrigue to the stylish and slick camera work. It’s extremely kinetic and the way he and Guadagnino shot this is wonderful. The tennis scenes are breathtaking and are so much more creative and inventive than they have any right to be. It’s fucking tennis, but this made it feel like a fucking car race or something. There are so many cool visual ideas and camera placements in here, it’s gonna blow you off your feet. And just when you think they can’t push it further, they do. And not not the tennis scenes, the whole film is shot and directed to a tee. Then there is the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. We all know they’re among the best composers of our time, but they really outdid themselves here. The score in this is fucking insane. It’s so electrifying and pushes the atmosphere so hard that it adds a whole extra layer of life and tension to this. Driving home while listening to the score, I felt so alive and cinematic. Possibly one of the best scores of all time. And if all of that wasn’t enough already, the film builds to a finale that is out of this world. The whole last like 30 minutes, but the finale in particular is so tense and suspenseful and had me on the edge of my seat, glued to the screen. “Challengers” is a masterpiece. In here, everything is about sex and everything is about tennis. An incredibly sexy and sweaty film too. I loved this film so fucking much and I can’t wait to see it again. Probably Guadagnino’s best film.