Challengers
2024
***
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, A.J. Lister, Nada Despotovich, Naheem Garcia, Hailey Gates, Jake Jensen, Darnell Appling, Shane Harris
During the junior U.S. Open in 2006, Patrick and Art, best friends and youth tennis stars, both become obsessed with Tashi, a beautiful rising star of the game. The twists and turns of their complicated relationship unfold during the next two hours, which cover a 13-year time span. Luca Guadagnino's erotically charged sports drama failed to adequately thrill, captivate, or titillate me. It features three attractive but uninteresting and egotistical characters whose interconnected lives managed to hold my attention only because of the dynamic non-linear structure and tense tennis scenes.
