Director - Luca Guadagnino, Cinematography - Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
"For about fifteen seconds there, we were actually playing tennis. And we understood each other completely. So did everyone watching. It's like we were in love. Or like we didn't exist. We went somewhere really beautiful together."
It's always nice when a movie lives up to the hype, and Challengers actually surpasses expectations. No matter what you expect going in, it will manage to surprise you in one way or another. It's true I'm not a huge fan of sports films, but I can tell you I had never seen one like this. Luca Guadagnino breathes new life into this genre with his masterful, awe-inspiring directing, also aided by Justin Kuritzkes' brilliant screenplay. And the whole thing is elevated to an even higher level thanks to three career-defining performances from Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist, whose chemistry makes these characters very believable. The cherry on top is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' stunning score, which makes the pace so propulsive. So, yeah, believe all the amazing stuff you've read about this movie. It's the real deal.