Luca Guadagnino
Challengers

Evidently, in recent cinema, the narrative form in which time is "fragmented" is very much in vogue, following in Nolan's footsteps. Luca Guadagnino's new film essentially thrives on this: a continuous and disorienting bounce between two main temporal planes, to construct causes and consequences obliquely, to give the viewer an uncomfortable perspective, full of gaps and thus questions.

There is a lot of style in the directorial choices, the shots—especially during the tennis matches—dare quite a bit (those in which the ball seems to hit the camera directly are beautiful), and there is a remarkable taste in the music, which repeatedly returns the same to emphasize the moments when the tension reaches its peak.

I believe, but I'm not sure, that this is one of the best films ever made about tennis, because ultimately it's not really about tennis. The matches, harsh, ruthless, psychological, are all played within the triangle between Zendaya and the other two protagonist friend-enemies. "Tennis is relationship." Guadagnino seems to construct a gigantic trauma, but of what happened in between, we always know very little. The suppositions racing through our heads are one of the most intriguing traits of the film, and this is a good thing.

But, despite everything, the complex narrative machinery in this case shows a bit of wear. Because it's fine with fragmented time, the chronological complexities, but the feeling is that this cinema in 2024 wants to dismantle and reassemble time for fear of otherwise telling stories that are too banal. And this is what happens here: as we discover the past events, all the mystery dissolves into a normal though admirably edgy story of jealousy and betrayal.

The same goes for the characters: there are many accumulated expectations, but what is lacking is a background of humanity behind the austere facade. So much time spent complicating the timeline, and then you find yourself faced with figures about whom we ultimately know very little. Above all, the dreadful Zendaya reveals herself as an original villain but weak in her motivations and utterly predictable in her actions. The severe and enigmatic demeanor does not mask anything deeper; everything is exhausted on the surface. Like a gigantic billboard.