In tennis terms, love means nothing. When it comes to the tennis-themed drama “Challengers,” the same may also be true, but it could also mean everything. That may seem like an oxymoron, but this film shows emotions and romance all over the place, so who even knows what love actually means anymore. This film was one of the most anticipated films of the summer as the steaminess of the characters’ actions combined with a high intensity sport piqued many people’s interests. I would like to call myself one of those people, as I had been wanting to see this movie for a while. After seeing it, I have to say the film truly feels one of a kind. The connections between everyone in this film and the high intensity of the sport led to a story that was quite gripping. Naturally, there were some moments and sequences that I felt could use some work, but the overall product was fairly cohesive and almost exhilarating. Released in theaters on April 26th and currently available for purchase at home, “Challengers” demonstrates a riveting connection between the fast-moving sport of tennis and the slow burn of sex and desire.

Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) are best friends and tennis players on the juniors circuit who both have dreams of becoming professionals. One year, when playing at the US Open juniors tournament, they meet tennis prodigy Tashi Duncan. Not only is she gorgeous, but she is also a fierce player that clearly puts all of her energy into every point that she plays. Practically at first sight, the two boys are in love with her. After a bet between each other about asking her out, Patrick and Tashi end up dating each other for a while. However, after Patrick and Tashi get into a fight, she injures her leg during a match, effectively ending her playing career. After this incident, Tashi and Art end up dating and later become married, with Tashi becoming Art’s coach. That leads to Art becoming a tennis champion, with Patrick wilting in smaller tournaments. As thirty year olds, the two are scheduled to play each other for the first time in years in the finals of a challenger tournament. The film demonstrates what happened between these three in the past ten plus years, slowly unraveling how various relationships fell apart or were given life. Who will win this enthralling match? Or, at the end of the day, will there actually be any winners between the three of them?

This film was quite character-driven, which means the actor’s performances were an important part of the final product. Therefore, let’s start with some of the highs of the film. As someone who has been a fan of Faist since his theatre days, it has been great to see him break out into the mainstream and this performance was a great example of what he’s capable of. It was interesting to see the different sides of Art, from being an energetic eighteen year old to a drained thirty year old, and Faist was able to show both sides of the part well. His charisma lept off the screen, which is why he was the character I rooted for the most. That being said, I would say O’Connor had a tougher part, leading to an objectively more interesting performance. As the years go on for Patrick, he becomes more cold and calculating, yet the passion for the sport never leaves with him. There is a lot of complexity to Patrick that gets revealed over time, which causes you to want to keep learning more about the tennis player. Then, there is Zendaya’s performance. I felt that she was able to pull off the allure and intensity that led to Art and Patrick falling for her in the first place. However, I was not able to buy that they would both still be falling at their feet for her after over ten years. Perhaps this is commentary on the writing, but I think there could have been more energy given to Zendaya’s performance, or at least something that allowed the viewers to understand Tashi more. Nevertheless, the three bounced (no pun intended) off each other well and made sure viewers were curious about everything that would happen next in their relationships.

When it came to the marketing, this film was trying to make it clear that this film would be full of sexual tension, not only off the court but also a little bit on it as well. Fortunately, if that’s what you’re into, I would say the marketing was not lying. To be clear, there were no actual sex scenes in this movie. However, there was a three-way kiss, hot make-outs in parking lots and a particularly titillating churro snack session. I thought it was an interesting choice not to use sex scenes, so that everyone’s lust was explored in other ways. It was also something that had the audience wanting more, but in a good way. It is almost reflective of the film’s storyline, where everyone is so close to getting what they want or fulfilling their passion, but they just can’t get there. Furthermore, every conversation in the movie is full of force, where there is not any wavering about what is being talked about. Every sentence spoken seemed to matter. In some ways, that can be exhausting and not feel true to real life. However, in other ways, it adds to the tension that this film is trying to build and the bubbling desire beneath the surface. “Challengers” takes three characters and puts them in situations where it seems like everytime they talk to someone, they want to kiss them or slap them. That display heightens the movie’s action in the best ways.

If you have ever wondered before, “Man, I wish I knew what it was like to be a tennis ball, a tennis court and a net,” then “Challengers” is certainly the film for you. That’s right, there are many scenes in the film where the camera seems to be in various places on the court, net and ball as a way to get a new point of view for the action. So if you were curious about why this romantic drama was available to be seen in theaters in IMAX, this was likely the reason why. Perhaps this was a tactic to demonstrate how intense the match actually was and how that fact was true from all angles. Maybe one shot from the tennis ball could have been cool once, but honestly, I did not think all of the shots were necessary. The movie was supposed to be character-driven and kind of grounded in its storylines, and the filming felt like the movie was pretending to be something it was not. As I mentioned before, I appreciated when the film was able to build up tension to provide some excitement. Nevertheless, the odd filming techniques and putting the movie in IMAX just felt unnecessary. Perhaps they wanted to add some more intrigue to the scenes of Art and Patrick playing tennis as they can get repetitive. However, I think they were fine as they were and were able to accomplish the job of adding context on their own. The fancy tricks were not necessary. A romantic drama should make people feel like they are on an emotional rollercoaster, not a literal one.

I am a big fan of movies and of professional tennis. Therefore, this film combines two of my greatest interests, which means in some ways it must have been meant for me. In addition, it means I also have some notes about how tennis was portrayed in the movie. Overall, I think the film was quite accurate. From showing the different levels of tournaments to the decision of going professional versus playing in college to the talks of coaching and how expensive it is to be a professional player. However, there are some parts that I believe had some errors. For starters, I do not get why Patrick felt that if Tashi switched over to coaching him when he was a 30-year-old ranking in the 200s would turn him into a grand slam winner. It also seemed like Tashi only turned him down because she was annoyed by him, but it did not look like she implied that his proposition was impossible. In reality, one coach would only get Patrick so far and that offer should really have meant nothing. Another note is that the Challenger final that Patrick and Art played was supposed to be important for Patrick because if he won, he would make the qualifying draw for the U.S. Open. I get that they needed stakes, but in reality, as an American player ranked as high as 243, there is almost no doubt that he would get a wildcard for the qualifying tournament, possibly even the main draw. The U.S. Open is always giving a lot of wildcards to American players, and I feel that even at 30, Patrick would still be getting them. For that matter, if this Challenger is taking place during the Cincinnati Open, the week before US Open qualifying, the entrants would have already been decided. Also, this is not necessarily a complaint because I don’t know Art’s ranking, but it seems like he is a top player, considering all of the ads and rackets with his face on it. Therefore, I don’t know if he could even do a Challenger since they have rules about top players playing them, since they are supposed to give the other players a shot. There might be some more flaws that I would catch if I watched the film again, but these are the glaring ones that lack a lot of truth.

I want to file this film away in my collection of films/television shows that I believe could have their love triangles solved with some ethical non-monogamy. In fact, I would say “Challengers” fits that category more than most other films. If everyone would just let their hang-ups go, they would all be happy together. Nevertheless, despite that opinion, I think the drama of the film was well-played out. I’m still deciding how I feel about the open-ended ending, but I think I am coming around to it. Did it live up to expectations that came from the buzz? I would not say it exceeded expectations, but it just about met them. The movie had excellent dialogue and played with the sexual theme well, but I do think there were some moments that were a little too dramatic and heightened. Also, as I said before, it was really unnecessary for there to be creative filming tricks. Fortunately, that can be quickly ignored since those parts do not distract too much from the overall plot. It was a unique film that certainly kept my eyes glued all the way through. If you want to see the emotional sides of top athletes or palpable sexual tension between three hours for over two hours, watch “Challengers” today.