“Challengers” is a bit of a tease. That’s what makes it fun.
There is plenty of skin, sweat, close-ups of muscly thighs and smoldering looks of lust and hate in this deliriously over-the-top psychodrama. But get that image of Josh O’Connor,Zendaya and Mike Faist sitting together on the bed out of your mind. Most of this action takes place on the tennis court.
It’s still a sexy tennis movie about friendship, love, competition and sport set to a synth-y score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — it just might not contain exactly what you think it does. But remember, Luca Guadagnino is the one who filmed Timothée Chalamet with that peach, perhaps more memorable than any actual sex scene from the past decade. Manage expectations, but also trust.
And like “Call Me By Your Name” did for Chalamet, “Challengers” is one of those rare original big-screen delights that firmly announces the arrival of a new generation of movie stars. Zendaya and Faist already had a bit of a leg up. She has played significant supporting roles in some of the biggest movies of the past few years, from “Spider-Man” to “Dune,” and he had had his big cinematic breakthrough as Riff in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” But it’s O’Connor who really comes out on top, effectively shedding any lingering image of him as a whiny, dweeby Prince Charles in seasons three and four of “The Crown.” In “Challengers,” his Patrick Zweig is the cocky, flirty, slightly mean, slightly dirty and slightly broken bad boyfriend of our fictional dreams.
Hanfu Lovers Gather in Xixi Wetland in Hangzhou to Celebrate Coming of Spring
China Records 226 Mln Passenger Trips in Spring Festival Holiday
Spring Tea Picking Starts in Pu'er City, China's Yunnan
Spain approves plan to compensate victims of Catholic Church sex abuse. Church will be asked to pay
China's Xinjiang to Invest 182 Mln Yuan in Preschool Education
Lion Dance Integrated with School Education in Tengxian, S China
China Steps up Judicial Protection for Women, Children: Reports
Armenia and Azerbaijan move closer to normalizing ties as the first border marker goes up
China Steadily Improves People's Wellbeing over Past 5 Years: Report
European parliament passes law banning forced labor products — Radio Free Asia
As Population Grays, Average Life Expectancy Rises