‘Challengers’ is Zendaya’s welcome to center court. Not that she isn’t one of the most recognized actresses in the world, but the film boldly announces to the world that gone are the days of just thinking of her as a great actor in an even better ensemble. Luca Guadagnino’s latest film allows Zendaya to put Hollywood on notice. She’s coming. She’ coming for all of those accolades. She’s coming for all of the awards. Her performance is fiery and unapologetic (much like her character Tashi Duncan). It would be easy to say this a career best performance for this talented actor, but this could only be the beginning.
The film centers around Duncan (Zendaya) coming to terms with no longer being a tennis prodigy and how she handles her husband (played by Mike Faist) who once was a former champion but is now on a terrible losing streak. Duncan’s idea to get her husband back on track is for her to play in a smaller tournament which leads to them running into her former boyfriend Patrick (Josh O’Connor). These three certainly have a twisted and steamy past. However, the present leaves all three of them at a crossroad.
One of the best decisions that Luca made was structuring this film in a non-sequential manner. Audiences are treated to moments in their past which allows us to attain a deeper understanding how things got to this moment. Josh and Mike were perfectly cast in their respective roles and provide audiences with the perfect foil to Zendaya’s Tashi. Watching this reminded me of how I felt watching Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. Just like Lawrence comes of age in that film, so does Zendaya. Once again, we are watching a star raise herself to great heights. My hope is MGM keeps ‘Challengers’ top of mind for all voters in the fall.