NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� How sexy can a qualifying tennis tournament in New Rochelle, New York, be? When the on-court drama involves Josh O鈥機onnor and Mike Faist, the answer turns out to be quite a bit more than your average USTA singles match in Luca Guadagnino鈥檚 鈥淐hallengers.鈥�
The film, directed by from a script by playwright Justin Kuritzkes, may have the appearance of a sports movie. Much of the action happens in between baselines. There are break points and short shorts. But in Guadagnino鈥檚 film, what鈥檚 being volleyed isn鈥檛 just a fuzzy little yellow ball.
鈥淭he ball is the ephemeral, invisible force of desire,鈥� says Guadagnino, the director of and 鈥淚 wanted to show desire going back and forth.鈥�
The result, by a score of about six-love, is the love triangle of the year. 鈥淐hallengers,鈥� which Amazon MGM Studios releases in theaters Friday, takes the melodrama of the threesome and gives it a breathless, bi-curious spin. That鈥檚 especially due to the multilateral chemistry between Zendaya, O鈥機onnor and Faist 鈥� all actors in their late 20s or early 30s, all very capable of smoldering when called upon.
It鈥檚 a big-screen statement especially for Zendaya, who鈥檚 also a producer on the film. She plays Tashi, the wife and coach of tennis superstar Art (Faist, the breakout). Tashi was only relegated to the sidelines because of a career-ending knee injury 鈥� though it did little to sap her ambition. When Art, whose passion for tennis is fading, is matched in New Rochelle against an old friend, Patrick (O鈥機onnor, star of ), their complicated past is, deliciously, resurrected.
Zendaya gravitated to the project not because it seemed a natural fit for her, but because it wasn鈥檛.
鈥淏ecause it sounded like a challenge. Because it is so different from me,鈥� Zendaya said in an interview alongside her co-stars. 鈥淪ometimes when you鈥檙e a little afraid to tackle something like that you, you鈥檙e like, 鈥極o, maybe I should do it.鈥� I don鈥檛 want to walk into something and be like, 鈥業 got this. This is going to be easy.鈥欌��
鈥淐hallengers鈥� was originally set to open last fall鈥檚 Venice Film Festival before it . But the delay has only given more time for the buzz around the film to grow. That has a lot to do with the attention on everything Zendaya does, but it also has to do with how the film puts three exciting young actors in the center of the frame, and doesn鈥檛 let go.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 special is that the three of us got to lead the movie. That is cool,鈥� says O鈥機onnor. 鈥淎n opportunity to do something like that is so rare.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes I鈥檝e been a part of big ensembles,鈥� adds Zendaya, who co-starred in the recent 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just the three of us. We are the cast. While we obviously have other amazing actors that contribute, this is the core thing here. Tennis training and the rehearsal period, it was just us. So thank god that we like each other.鈥�
Guadagnino, known for his organic way of working, compares the weeks he and the three stars spent together preparing in Boston to 鈥渒ids on the beach creating castles of sand.鈥� Though Faist has some ability, the rest were hopeless at tennis. Guadagnino hadn鈥檛 picked up a racquet in his life before stepping onto the set in 鈥淐hallengers.鈥� Famed tennis coach Brad Gilbert was brought in to help.
But 鈥淐hallengers鈥� isn鈥檛 really about tennis, that鈥檚 just the arena where attraction and emotion in the film ultimately spills out. When it鈥檚 pointed out to Guadagnino that the tennis scenes are essentially his movie鈥檚 sex scenes, he responds, 鈥淭hank you.鈥�
Faist, O鈥機onnor and Zendaya all connected in different ways not just to how desire ebbs and flows but to how the characters are each juggling their fluctuating passions with their careers.
鈥淚t is this constant navigation in what we do. Once a project is over then you鈥檙e kind of in limbo. You鈥檙e always trying to find that thing that sparks something inside of you,鈥� Faist says. 鈥淚t was something I really resonated with, that idea of falling in and out of love with your craft.鈥�
For Zendaya, the idea of having your craft ripped away, as it for Tashi, fueled arguably her finest film performance yet. 鈥淐hallengers鈥� is also the first time she鈥檚 leading a theatrical release.
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful that I picked a career that I can keep doing for as long as I want to. I can be 80 years old and still be making movies if I get lucky enough to be able to or if that鈥檚 something I still want to be do then,鈥� Zendaya says. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine that idea of that life or thing that makes you happy or gives you power being ripped away from you. I deeply empathize with that.鈥�
Producer Amy Pascal first brought 鈥淐hallengers鈥� to Zendaya, a fittingly full-circle moment considering that Pascal cast Zendaya in her big-screen breakthrough, 鈥淐hallengers,鈥� though, signals a shift into more mature screen roles for the 27-year-old who from a young age as a Disney TV star had the responsibly of fame and providing for her family on her shoulders.
鈥淪omething I deal with personally is the idea of what I should want, or what people want for me,鈥� Zendaya says. 鈥淚 empathize with that in Tashi but also in Art because he鈥檚 playing for two people. He鈥檚 not just selfishly playing for his own joy anymore, he鈥檚 playing for someone else. Sometimes our work can feel like that, too. We鈥檙e playing for the benefit of other people, what people want for us, rather than what really would just make you happy.鈥�
For Zendaya, Faist and O鈥機onnor, 鈥淐hallengers鈥� allowed them to, when not busy steaming up the screen, wrestle with their own ambitions. O鈥機onnor, who portrayed Prince Charles on 鈥淭he Crown,鈥� shot 鈥淟a Chimera鈥� 鈥� playing a character he more closely identified with 鈥� in between a very different role in 鈥淐hallengers.鈥�
鈥淗e is front-footed, he鈥檚 overly confident 鈥� all these qualities that I鈥檝e always admired and always wanted that I鈥檝e never quite been able to have. Just to play it and be in his shoes for a few months was bliss,鈥� says O鈥機onnor. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檒l hold on to with Patrick. I really like Patrick. I know he鈥檚 problematic but I really like him. I find him hilarious and charming and he knows himself. And those are all qualities that I don鈥檛 necessarily have but I admire in him.鈥�
The connections and challenges each star brought to 鈥淐hallengers鈥� added up to a remarkably intimate drama and a potentially career-shifting experience. Even Guadagnino, who generally prefers editing to shooting, found his time on hard court with Zendaya, O'Connor and Faist to be enthralling.
鈥淚t was joyous and it was a nice and it was energetic," says Guadagnino. "It was a good company.鈥�
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
