Challengers
Regie:
Luca GuadagninoScenario:
Justin KuritzkesCamera:
Sayombhu MukdeepromActeurs:
Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, A.J. Lister, Naheem Garcia, Hailey Gates, Nada Despotovich, Bryan Doo, Mary Joe FernandezSamenvattingen(1)
Tashi (Zendaya) is een sterke vrouw die zowel op als buiten de tennisbaan haar mannetje staat en getrouwd is met een tenniskampioen die bezig is aan een wat mindere periode. Tashi’s pogingen haar man er weer bovenop te krijgen nemen een verrassende wending wanneer hij het moet opnemen tegen de uitgerangeerde Patrick (Josh O'Connor), zijn voormalige beste vriend en de ex van Tashi. Als zaken uit hun verleden er dan toe leiden dat de spanningen hoog oplopen, wordt Tashi gedwongen zich af te vragen welke prijs er voor de winst zal moeten worden betaald. (Pathé)
(meer)Recensie (3)
I like sports dramas and I was really looking forward to Challengers since the first trailer. Luca Guadagnino is a guarantee of quality filmmaking and he delivers a solid sports romance that, although a little scrappy at times in the second half, but Zendaya pulls all the attention to herself. The finale is nicely suspenseful, nice camera work, decent performances and overall a good film, but one I won't be watching again (I enjoyed the Williams sisters with Will Smith a tad more, there were stronger emotions there as well). 70%
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I'm not a fan of sports-themed films, but Challengers managed to win me over thanks to its story, the core of which revolved around a dynamic and plastic love triangle, whose individual vertices interacted with each other at the speed of a tennis ball. I commend the structure of the plot, where the framework was the decisive match, while the filler was what led to this great match. In fact, I ended up liking the sporting aspect of the film - the quick shots between faces, ball hits and rackets really drew me into the action, almost onto the tennis court, you could say. Last but not least, I have to highlight the incredible soundtrack, whose electronic tones fit the story perfectly.
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A heated tennis love story full of ego, unrequited love and the desire to win. Zendaya, as the tennis goddess who gets her hand pecked by Prince Charles of the Decreased Manners and his good second in command, is flawless. Ditto for the plot, where you don't know how it's all going to turn out until the last moment. I could have done with fewer slow-motion shots, they do make sense for filming a fast-paced sport like tennis to dramatize the hits, but by the end Luca Guadagnino uses them so much that it paradoxically dulls the climax of the story a bit. Yet the matches otherwise don't lack punch at all, as both the score and the soundtrack, as well as the flourishes with the camera during each exchange, give the film a liveliness that I've missed in tennis films for many years.
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