Luca Guadagnino's Challengers
- Thread starter Finn
- Start date
Jark
User
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2007
- Messages
- 53,638
I didn't share my thots yet but this was absolutely TREMENDOUS. I saw somebody say that this was exactly the kind of movie we need more of - original story, middle brow, mid budget, not Oscar bait, no creative limitations. and I agree.
apart from being incredibly good fun I thought it also posed some interesting questions and addressed some themes not often addressed in cinema - how do boys and men navigate intensely close male friendships? did Patrick also have some sexual desire for Art, or was it all just about maintaining their power dynamics? can you live your dreams via somebody else? has Tashi ever loved Art, or is she just pushing him to the max because she was never able to do it herself? why IS passive, meek Art so incredibly sexy, and could he please drip his sweat all over me?
some of the plotting was shallow but I felt the themes were weighty enough to overcome it. stunning soundtrack, incredible camerawork (that one shot of the final tiebreaker shot from below the court as if it were a swimming pool... fuck), excellent pacing, and a slightly ambiguous climax that doesn't reflect how tennis actually works but does loop back to what Tashi says early on about those few seconds where the competitors are connected. is that what she wanted for them? is that why she cheers?
10/10. a big slay. so much so that one woman in my screening had an actual seizure and they literally paused it, kicked us out, rewound the film and went again. maybe she couldn't handle the massive quantity of muscled thigh on display
apart from being incredibly good fun I thought it also posed some interesting questions and addressed some themes not often addressed in cinema - how do boys and men navigate intensely close male friendships? did Patrick also have some sexual desire for Art, or was it all just about maintaining their power dynamics? can you live your dreams via somebody else? has Tashi ever loved Art, or is she just pushing him to the max because she was never able to do it herself? why IS passive, meek Art so incredibly sexy, and could he please drip his sweat all over me?
some of the plotting was shallow but I felt the themes were weighty enough to overcome it. stunning soundtrack, incredible camerawork (that one shot of the final tiebreaker shot from below the court as if it were a swimming pool... fuck), excellent pacing, and a slightly ambiguous climax that doesn't reflect how tennis actually works but does loop back to what Tashi says early on about those few seconds where the competitors are connected. is that what she wanted for them? is that why she cheers?
10/10. a big slay. so much so that one woman in my screening had an actual seizure and they literally paused it, kicked us out, rewound the film and went again. maybe she couldn't handle the massive quantity of muscled thigh on display