SPOILERS AHEAD:

“Zendaya and her white boys, sitting in a tree: K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” and while I am of the opinion there could have been more on the actual kissing front, Luca Guadagnino’s newest sports-erotica, “Challengers“, might just be the smash hit of the year.

In a game where LOVE means zero, it’s no wonder Guadagnino chose the court as the perfect setting for the Zendaya-Mike Faist–Josh O’Connor rendezvous to take place. It’s like Zendaya’s character, the formidable tennis champion Tashi Duncan foreshadows in one of the early scenes of the film when she says to both the boys, “Tennis is like a relationship”… making what is already a fairly obvious analogy for the relationship the three players will share throughout the movie even more cut and dry. Usually, I would be remiss at something so on-the-nose, but in this case I kind of respect it. 

Against the current landscape of movies currently, whereby a film’s intentions must be layered under at least fifty different metaphors and the blood of a virgin to be considered “worthy” the director’s approach actually feels somewhat refreshing: Guadagnino wants there to be zero confusion about what the movie is really about. The court is simply the backdrop that brings the three players together: Art Donaldson (Faist) the preppy, cute pushover competing for his Career Grand Slam under the relentless coaching of former champion, now turned wife, Tashi Duncan. But the fire to Art’s ice and longtime friend Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) is back years later to rival him both on and off the court. What ensues is a series of flashbacks cutting between when the three first became intertwined before Tashi’s fatal injury and the present, where we see her relegated to a life of coaching her now husband, Art, as she tries to live vicariously through his career. 

In this pivotal flashback scene, we see Tashi assume the power as she initiates the two boys making out on their motel room bed while politely sitting back and watching in amusement at her creation. It’s made very clear who wields the real power in this dynamic and although we know she ends up married to Art in the present, her hold on the two men, the intensely intimate and devilishly intriguing connection they all share remains as ever steadfast through the years as they mature. 

We take this journey largely through what the characters of Challengers are wearing throughout their different timelines following that night at the motel. But historically and culturally, fashion and the game of tennis have always been ubiquitously intertwined (think Serena Williams’ infamous NIKE catsuit in the 2018 US Open) and the outfitting in Challengers uses this to its advantage. Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe, uses the clothing in the film to serve as key cultural signifiers of the characters’ goals and aspirations both with one another, as well as in their tennis… which you come to realise is pretty much always the same thing anyway. 

Take the very first time we even see the characters for example – even from the opening scene of the film, which is also consequently the final scene, Art is strictly buttoned-up in a crisp white matching Uniqlo set, he is perfectly inoffensive; a blank canvas for Tashi to manipulate and project onto. Compare that to Patrick’s old and worn mismatched, all-black gym clothes, he is confident, carefree and dangerous. And as for Tashi? The ever-perfect picture of quiet luxury, she sits courtside in luxe cashmere, a cotton Loewe dress and Chanel espadrilles, seeking to emphasise her relative power over her men and her game. 

Although the fashion is very much on point, don’t go expecting the extravaganza of Poor Things or even Barbie – it’s Anderson’s unique understanding of everyday clothes and the nuances they can communicate, which makes him perfect to outfit a film like this one. In fact, it is an incredible relief to see that even movies that aren’t sci-fi, period pieces or with multi-million dollar budgets are finally utilising fashion in fun, interesting ways again. Even Anderson’s use of clothing as a passage of time is very effective. In their youth, Anderson leans into a palpable obviousness with Tashi donning a hot pink Juicy Couture bomber as she visits the boys’ motel room while being the face of Adidas campaigns, something our culture has come to know as a signifier for the sports prodigy. The guys wore looks typical to the late 2000s, embodying preppiness by American standards.

But do not mistake Anderson’s casualness for lack of impact, as ‘normal’ as the outfits seem, they were undeniably charged with the sexual tension of the film. Take the iconic “I TOLD YA” T-shirt that has been doing its rounds on the internet ever since the film was released – originally a reference to the shirt the President of the USA, John F. Kennedy, once wore in a series of famous paparazzi pics, it becomes a glaringly simple, yet wildly effective symbol of the throuple’s power dynamics and all the messy underlying sexual tensions. Anderson’s complete obviousness in having both Tashi and Patrick wear the same tee in the build-up to and after a pivotal plot twist is genius. The literal sharing of clothes between the characters becomes yet another figurative layer to their interconnectedness. 

Although as I mentioned it does not take long at all to figure out that the sport serves merely as a means for the three characters to convey their complexities and affections for one another, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some seriously sexy tennis scenes. I’m speaking in particular to the final scene, which again we cut back and forth to before settling into the final 20 minutes of the film and finally the match-point of the game itself. My only complaint about this movie is I wanted more sex out of it, but if we’re sticking with the metaphor, technically I suppose the final showdown could be considered Art and Patrick’s sex scene. 

Guadagnino’s camera sensually caresses his stars’ bodies, accentuating their muscles and capturing every pore and bead of sweat, every lip bite of frustration, every tiny flex of the forearm, leading us with bated breathe to the climax. The expert pacing of the movie, set to the thumping of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s incredible Techno score (that I’ve had on repeat for the last three days) compounds the tension exponentially all the way through to the final moments. How could there possibly exist a satisfying way to wrap this all up? Surely, there’s not enough time? And then, it’s almost impossible for a huge smile not to spread across your face as you see the two boys, challengers, rivals, best friends, enemies, and lovers, collide into each other’s embrace as they finally see each other as equals. 

Although one could not have dreamed up a more perfectly succinct ending for the two boys, now men, it does leave us with one pretty big unanswered question: who won the match? You see, Guadagnino ends the film with points left in the balance and so finally, the use of tennis as the ongoing symbol (for sex) and a pretext (for relationships) meets its end as the movie does the one thing tennis can’t: ends in a draw. That’s untenable. But, as soon as you hear Tashi’s triumphant “Come Onnnn!” as she watches her two Challengers collide mid-air over the net, precisely the same scream she let out when she won the junior U.S. Open all those years earlier, you realise that she’s the winner here, she’s been the winner, maybe all along. 

If you’re in Johannesburg, The Bioscope Theatre at 44 Stanley Avenue is currently screening Challengers. So grab your group of friends, put on your cutest tennis ‘fit, and head to The Bioscope for one of the best movie-watching experiences I’ve ever had. The vodka slushies are frozen, the popcorn is fresh, and the pizza is an A(ce)-plus! All to be enjoyed while you sit back, relax, and enjoy the film in full HD in the comfort of an intimate, independent movie house. Tickets can be booked online at https://www.thebioscope.co.za/challengers/. Don’t say I never Told Ya!