TORONTO – Luca Guadagnino’s latest sports film “Challengers” might throw some of his fans for a loop, as the Italian Director tends to deal in the intimate, dark corners of human relationships – not sports. 

There’s an obsessive exploration of the friction between friends and lovers that characterizes his films, whether it’s “Call Me By Your Name’s” 17 year old Elio who forms a secret bond with his father’s research assistant, or the tension between old flames in “A Bigger Splash”. Guadagnino, it seems, loves to pit Man against Forbidden Fruit.

But “Challengers”, on its face, is a movie about three college tennis players vying to become professionals. Yet, as with most sports-related films, “Challengers” veers from its subject towards the off-court drama. Luca Guadagnino says: “It’s a cinematic tour de force of jealousy rivalry and love…and the sports action had to be reflective of the dynamic between the characters”. What begins as a routine story about college buddies making a run for the pros, swerves to a deep dive into the [Athlete’s] competitive mindset and its effects on relationships.

Those relationships revolve around the same characters, a love triangle between Tashi (Zendaya), Patrick (Josh O’Conner) and Art (Mike Faist), three young tennis prospects. When Patrick and Art meet Tashi, a beautiful and explosive talent touted as tennis’ next Serena Williams, their focus shifts to who can woo her first. Complications ensue when Tashi agrees to date whoever beats the other in a tennis match. From here, the story’s linear structure is abandoned for a shift in chronology.

The main action is an intense Challenger Final between Art and Patrick [in their thirties] in the twilight of their careers. Through clever flashbacks between match moments, Guadagnino reveals the war of attrition that led to this moment, the wrongs each of them inflicted onto the other – some of which have been kept secret.  At the heart of it, is a woman who as she states in the film, “home wrecked” a bond between friends, and what entails are some of the worst kinds of betrayal, indiscretions and reckless ambition.

“Challengers” examines the psychological dimensions of three individuals, each representing common traits or impulses – and each devouring the other. From Art’s misguided innocence, to Tashi’s blind ambition, to Patrick’s loose morals, a three-headed monster forms. But the script and Guadagnino’s interpretation avoid judgment. Challengers is simply a story “about the game of life and love”, says the Italian auteur, and while maybe not a decree that all’s fair in love and war, it’s certainly a glimpse into the world of unchecked ambition – in love and sports.

Challengers is available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video

All photos are copyright of: Goldwyn-Meyer Pictures Inc.   

Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix