Few subjects divide the global population quite as much as a sport (speaking in general terms) – despite its widespread popularity and importance within every conceivable culture, there’s often a division between those who find value in sport (whether playing it or observing it being played), and those who find it nothing more than a meaningless pastime that is difficult to understand and even more challenging to participate in, which has led to some fascinating debate over the years. This polarizing reaction to sports has carried over into the arts, with an entire sub-genre of sports films existing, being wildly popular amongst a particular portion of the population, while being entirely ignored by another. Yet, there are occasionally films that find the rare middle ground and manage to appeal to a much wider segment of the audience, which is where we can situate Challengers, in which director Luca Guadagnino (in his endeavour to consistently challenge the cinematic form by exploring different genres and concepts while maintaining firm control over his craft) collaborates with screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to tell the story of an unconventional love triangle set within the world of tennis, focusing on the relationship between three promising young tennis players, following them over roughly a decade, tracing their rise and fall within the industry, which mirrors their interpersonal relationships, which proves that the real competition is not on the court, but rather in squalid hotel rooms and tacky restaurants, which serve as the playing field for an even more vicious game of temptation. A strange but wickedly entertaining collision of genres that are carefully handcrafted by a director whose refusal to find a specific niche has resulted in a body of work that is mostly quite unorthodox, but still oddly brilliant in how he is constantly reinventing his directorial vision, leading to one of the most unusual entries into a genre to which very few of us would ever expect to see his name attached – but once we are fully engrossed in the world of Challengers, those familiar traits and techniques begin to appear, making it quite clear why this fits into the esteemed auteur’s storied and daring career, which continues to flourish into one of the most intriguing of his generation, and one that is perfectly suited for the twists and turns contained within this daring film.

On the surface, any arthouse auteur making a seemingly mainstream romantic comedy set within the world of sport seems quite unconventional and perhaps even slightly inappropriate, since they tend to exist within entirely different artistic orbits. Yet, one only needs to spend a few minutes with Challengers to understand exactly what drew Guadagnino to this material, perhaps even to the point where, despite its subject matter, it’s very much aligned with his values as a director, particularly in how it presents him with the opportunity to peer at a certain portion of society and examine precisely what it is that makes it such a cornerstone of contemporary existence, examining both the obvious reasons for its popularity, as well as daring to infuse it with his unique perspective that almost always finds ways to dismantle common conceptions and present them in a decidedly different way than anyone could have anticipated. Challengers is a truly unconventional film insofar as it may sit within the world of tennis, but in terms of both its structure and style, it challenges the boundaries of the genre, to the point of it becoming almost unrecognizable at some points. Primarily, the way it is formed is very unique – the framing device is a single tennis match between two rivals, with the main storyline leaping into the past, each segment of their match becoming unofficial acts to the story, which relays the past 15 years in their professional and personal lives. It employs a non-linear structure that liberally leaps between periods, which requires us to pay close attention to the small details to fully understand the intricacies of the narrative. Formally, Challengers is quite inventive, but it’s in the underlying subject matter and how Guadagnino works closely with the screenwriter to realize some of the more unconventional themes that it becomes truly effective. Throughout the film, Guadagnino engages in the technique of “queering” the subject matter, reconfiguring something as overtly masculine and heteronormative as competitive sports into an unorthodox examination of a variety of complex ideas and fixating on the subtle cues that emerge as a result of this decidedly different approach to something as seemingly straightforward as one of the most popular and respected sports of the modern era.

There comes a point quite early on in Challengers when we make the startling realization that this is not a film about tennis – the sport is prominent and central to the storyline, but it is merely used as a channel through which Kuritzkes and Guadagnino can explore several other ideas, which are far more essential to the overall narrative. The real theme that drives this film is desire, which is a common thread in most of Guadagnino’s films in one form or another, which makes it quite clear why he was drawn to this material, as well as his reasons for focusing less on the mechanics of tennis (having spoken about how he is not all that interested in the sport, and fact finds it quite dull), and more on the circumstances surrounding these characters as they engage in what is one of the most unexpectedly erotic sports. A pivotal moment in Challengers comes when the female protagonist states that tennis isn’t merely a sport, but a relationship between two individuals as they share the same space for a few moments, engaged in a kind of competitive series of movements in which they somehow need to work together to defeat the other, which is one of the reasons it is viewed as one of the more unconventional sports in terms of rivalries. Guadagnino is very interested in this side of the story, especially in how it evolves into quite a daring examination of masculinity, with the trio of performances at the heart of the film reflecting quite an unorthodox example of the battle of the sexes. This isn’t even factoring in the aforementioned queer subject matter, which is not central to the narrative, but is still a lingering theme (and had Guadagnino been given slightly more free rein in terms of the narrative, its likely we’d have seen more of this explored – it’s one of the more interesting parts of the film, so it would not be out of place), as well as the socio-cultural importance of sport as not only a form of entertainment or competition but as a representation of social status. Guadagnino’s distance from the sport creates a very interesting perspective, and he and Kuritzkes offer some remarkably intriguing (and often blisteringly funny) insights into this profession, seeing the ebb and flow of a group of people who have dedicated their lives to a sport that they hope will bring them glory, but tends to only complicate their existence in unexpected ways.

One of Guadagnino’s most endearing traits is his tendency towards developing a particular fondness for actors that are usually reserved for artists and their longtime muses – even in their first collaboration, he forms a strong bond with his performers, extracting exceptional work from all of them and essentially presenting something to us that we had never seen before. Challengers is the first collaboration between the director and the trio of Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, and suffice it to say, it proves to be extraordinary, with all three actors delivering knockout performances that are layered, alluring and deeply captivating. Zendaya is the epicentre of the film, the character who acts as both the de facto protagonist and the catalyst for the major conflict, which is defined by O’Connor and Faist, who portray feuding tennis players who used to be best friends but allow their pursuit of success, as well as their mutual attraction to Zendaya’s character, to get in the way of lifelong companionship. Challengers is a very stylish and entertaining film, but it has a tenderness that comes through mainly in the performances, since this is a story of a broken friendship, and how something as inconsequential as sexual attraction and the feeling of needing to succeed can cause someone to almost entirely fall apart at the seams. Choosing a standout amongst the three is nearly impossible – Zendaya is a brilliant femme fatale, the mastermind between the central conflict and the person who essentially emerges triumphant, secure in the knowledge that her manipulation of these young men has wedged a division between them that can never be overcome. Faist is the All-American hero who has a sinister streak that comes through in moments of fury and frustration, proving that he is much less decent than he would like to believe he comes across. O’Connor is delightfully entertaining as the failed tennis star living in the shadow of his former best friend, and whose scruffiness conceals a malice that is both entertaining and quite unsettling. The key isn’t to choose a standout amongst the cast, but rather to focus on how each one of them brings something different to the proceedings, which is precisely what makes Challengers such a delectable, entertaining piece of filmmaking.

Moving beyond the more narrative-based elements, as well as how these actors bring the film to life, we also can’t help but be fully engrossed by how Challengers proves to be one of Guadagnino’s most exceptionally well-crafted films. He is often a director who is given more credit for his thematic content than the fact that he’s also a genuinely fantastic filmmaker, and this film proves this to be beyond true, especially in how it handles some of the slightly trickier subject matter, which evolves beautifully throughout the film. The form the film takes is extraordinary – the subject matter doesn’t necessarily lend itself to one specific approach, and there is an alternate reality where this is a hard-hitting, gritty drama, rather than a provocative, darkly comedic voyage through the minds of these characters. Challengers are extremely stylist, and both visually and aurally, we find ourselves getting easily lost in the world into which the director plunges us, forcing us to reconsider reality in strange and unsettling ways, while still maintaining that deeply captivating tone that he perfects throughout the film. The dynamic camera work (which is a credit to both Guadagnino as a director, as well as cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, whose ingenuity behind the camera is nothing short of extraordinary) allows us to easily leap into the lives of these people, and the pulsating score by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor sets the mood, allowing the film to oscillate between tone and atmosphere without having to depend on the story itself, which maintains a relatively consistent technique throughout. Guadagnino’s greatest strength is using story, music and visuals to establish a specific tone, and while a lot of Challengers is quite superficial (which is very much intentional, and seems to be entirely by design – the film would not be nearly as effective had it approached a more sobering style), and this ultimately proves to be the source of much of the film’s most complex ideas, which are carefully and methodically woven together to create such a vibrant, compelling atmosphere that is both daring and provocative in equal measure, and simply just wickedly entertaining in terms of both form and content.

Had any other director made Challengers, the results would have been vastly different – perhaps not in a less compelling way, but there would certainly be elements missing, since Guadagnino brings a few fascinating ideas, both formally and conceptually, to the production that essentially form the foundation of the film, showcasing his superb artistic vision. Its not the most original film when it comes to the storyline, but it becomes unique through the execution, which is a stylish, over-the-top collision of images and sounds that would be tacky in just about any other context, but which proves to be more than appropriate for a film such as this, which is a brilliantly subversive twist on romantic comedy tropes that dares to push boundaries in ways that may sometimes be awkward and uncomfortable, but still serves a fascinating purpose. Guadagnino is a masterful filmmaker, and he adds a sports drama to his steadily-growing list of genres that he has conquered successfully, and while it does slightly pale in comparison to a lot of his other work, particularly those that adhere closer to his artistic and thematic sensibilities, Challengers is still a wonderful achievement, a delightful confection of a film that is not particularly serious, but still offers something truly valuable, which evolves into a compelling drama that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, being anchored by remarkable performances from a terrific cast, and driven by a genuine sense of curiosity that is perfectly suited to the director and his perpetual search for a deeper understanding of the human condition, which he finds in the most unexpected of places. Irreverent, enticing and always captivating in how it presents human sexuality in its most raw and unfiltered of forms, while still having an abundance of style, it is not difficult to understand precisely why Challengers has become such a sensation, and we can only hope that Guadagnino continues to pursue these wild but compelling ideas.