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Challengers
I was skeptical of Luca Guadagnino's films like Call Me By Your Name until I saw them. It felt like Luca is making high brow dramas that are designed solely as tear-squeezers that appeal to contemporary politics. But then I saw his movies. From Call Me By Your Name to instant horror classics like Bones And All he proved time and time again that he is truly great. His movies are insanely visceral emotional roller-coasters that are not afraid to be sincere, while every other movie these days cannot take anything seriously. But then came a trailer of Luca Guadagnino making a movie about Tennis.
I knew in the back of my head that at the very least the drama of the movie would be good. I didn't see Luca as some kind of an action director. His movies tend to be very character based. The closest thing he did for action was his take on Suspiria in 2018. Because that was a horror movie about dancers. So the "action" are the dance scenes. Which are amazing. But then if you think about it, any movie about sport is automatically an action film. Yes it's not your typical blockbuster with shootings, explosions and car chases. But it is about physicality. About performance. And where skill and luck matter as they matter in action films too. And so to make a good sport movie require the same set of skills that are required to make a good contemporary action film.
I was surprised to see that Challengers wasn't just about the characters that just so happened to play Tennis. But it was very much about the Tennis itself. I was under the impression that Luca would not risk trying to go into action. And would instead just make a stellar drama movie. But then I saw the film! And now I want to see a Luca Guadagnino movie with shooting, explosions and car chases. The way he shot the Tennis stuff was breath-taking! From the sweat flowing down everybody's faces, to the stakes, to the drama between the players to the interesting shots! Oh boy, the shots! He puts the camera into the field, under the field, onto the character's, onto the ball. Insanity!
But that's not it, the drama of the film is also stellar. The performances of Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor are just wow! The energy! The sexiness! The viscerality of the relationships. The viscerality of the Tennis that they play. And Luca is not making it easy for them. He goes borderline pornographic in some scenes and uses his horror experience in other scenes.
In some regard it is a typical love triangle movie. But it is different, because it is Luca Guadagnino. He has different views on sex than other people. Call Me By Your Name for example was a novelty because it seems like not a single person in the movie was against the love between two men. He was perhaps playing with the expectation that somebody might appear to challenge them. But nobody ever does. Making you, as an audience member, ask yourself if you were actually waiting for that person because you wanted that person to represent you, in way, forcing you to contemplate about it and ultimately agree with Luca that there is nothing to even tolerate here. It's just normal!
He went with a similar approach to Bones And All, where I would remind you, the movie is about lovers cannibals. Yes, in that one he did not shy away from showing the ugly side of cannibalism. But then in the end, spoiler alert, the last cannibalism scene, was just normal again, and in some way, is the true representation of love between the two leads. Making the movie way more visceral as a result.
Spoiler
Challengers is not about resolving tensions of monogamy, but rather is about questioning why monogamy is even needed in the first place. Therefor there is no resolution to the love triangle. But there is resolution to the friends being angry on one another.
This movie being shot beautifully, featuring beautiful people, having stellar score, visceral emotions, visceral action! It is perhaps one of the best movie experiences ever. And I am waiting for more from Luca. I heard he is already making another one. So excited!
Happy Hacking!!!
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