"Challengers" -- Movie Review

 

Recently, I attended an advance screening of “Challengers”, starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino. 

Synopsis

When an aging tennis player seeks a comeback, can he defeat an old ally despite the fact that one of them is being coached by a woman who has had a relationship with both of them?

Story

At the age of 31, Patrick (Josh O'Connor) realizes he’s nearing the end of his time as a professional tennis player; he’s down on his luck and has been a disappointment to himself both personally and professionally.  He has just barely qualified for the current tennis match; since he’s a low seed, a win would mean one last chance at career advancement and a loss might mean he’ll finally have to face the prospect of retirement.  To make matters worse, he’ll have to face Art (Mike Faist), someone who he’s known since they were both teenagers.  Despite the fact that they were considered up and coming athletes, their careers took very different paths as Art has been more successful in his field. 

Tashi (Zendaya) was once considered to be one of the up-and-coming female tennis players when she was a teenager; traveling in similar circles, she got to know both Patrick and Art and became intimate friends with both of them.  However, her career got derailed before it could barely begin when she suffered a severe knee injury that curtailed her ability to play tennis at a professional level.  Eventually, everyone’s life took different paths – she went on to have a relationship with Patrick while Art’s focus was on his chosen profession.  When Tashi’s relationship with Patrick ended, she agreed to become Art’s coach and before too long, their personal and professional life became intertwined.

Despite bitter feelings for Patrick, Tashi remains sexually attracted to him.  Knowing her complex feelings, he keeps trying to get her back in his life, even though he’s fully aware of her being Art’s professional and personal partner.  Ultimately, the two wind up having a tryst the night before the two men are scheduled to have their big match.  Art, of course, is unaware of this; unsure of whether he can defeat Patrick, Tashi asks Patrick to throw the match so Art can continue his career.  Patrick is unsure if he can do this because it would mean an end to his own career.  But when the two finally meet, can Art beat Patrick on his own merits or will Patrick give in to Tashi’s request? 

Review

One of the more amazing aspects of Luca Guadagnino’s latest is his shot choices.  Many times, you are left wondering how he managed to get certain shots; this technical curiosity may take you out of the story momentarily, but depending on how invested you are in the story (as opposed to the filmmaking technique), it may not matter terribly much.  The soundtrack by Trant Reznor can also be either enhancing or annoying to the film; there are moments when the music background adds tension within the moment, but there are other times when you feel as though you are in a nightclub listening to EDM and you are the only one there who is not on Ecstasy. 

The main problem with “Challengers” is the fact that it’s difficult to root for any of the characters.  They are either weak, scoundrels or narcissistic.  Trying to find something socially or personally redeeming about any of them might turn out to be something of a challenge, to put it mildly.  Why anyone might be emotionally invested in the outcome of any of the participants in this manipulative love triangle is certainly confounding.  If you are comfortable with that and are only interested in the more salacious angles of the movie, then it might be worth a watch.  On the other hand, if you are looking for something of greater substance – either in the story or the characters – then “Challengers” might be a hard pass. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with the film’s screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes.  Although his primary focus was as a playwright, he wanted to write a story about tennis; he made it a screenplay instead of a stage play because he saw the story as very visual.  Kuritzkes said that it’s more about what’s not being said than what is being said and the way people look at each other.  Although not a big tennis or sports fan, he happened to watch the U.S. Open in 2018 where Serena Williams was accused of receiving coaching from the sidelines.  This ultimately proved to be his primary inspiration for the script.

 

"The Peasants" -- Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a special screening at Lincoln Center for the historical drama, “The Peasants”, Poland's Oscar® Entry for Best International Feature Film from Sony Pictures Classics. 

Synopsis

When a young woman casts aside traditional values to live her own life as she sees fit, will she be able to overcome the unfounded rumors that are surrounding her by the jealousy older women in the village?

Story

In late 19^th Century Poland, Jagna and her mother live in a small agrarian community.  She is a beautiful, single young woman who is the envy of everyone.  Secretly, Jagna is in love with Antek, who works tirelessly and thanklessly on the farm that belongs to his father Boryna.  Boryna has the most land of any farmer there and as such is seen as both successful and a leader of the community.  Having recently becoming a widower, Boryna’s supporters urge him to remarry; he is resistant to the idea because his wife had just died a few months ago and he is afraid that the townspeople would talk. 

Despite the fact that Jagna and Antek find difficulty arranging trysts, they continue to have a great attraction to each other.  Many of the women in this community talk about her bedding nearly every man in town – rumors which are completely unfounded.  Eventually, Boryna is convinced that he should remarry and that Jagna kept as the main object of his desire.  Boryna schedules a meeting with Jagna’s mother and they come to an agreement where if he marries her daughter, Jagna will inherit a sizable amount of Boryna’s farmland when he passes.  Without Jagna’s knowledge or consent, a wedding between the two is scheduled, to her dismay. 

Once married, Jagna is reluctant to have relations with her new husband.  Soon, it becomes irrelevant as it is discovered that some interlopers in the area are denying the longstanding townspeople access to the wood in the forest, preventing them from building, cooking or heating their homes.  A battle ensues where Boryna perishes, causing Jagna to inherit the land.  By now, however, Antek’s feelings about Jagna have changed because she married his father and now has much of his land, which Antek believes is rightfully his.  But when the townspeople wrongly believe that Jagna is pursuing someone forbidden, will they be able to successfully expel her from their village?

Review

Although an interesting concept, “The Peasants” has some bit of difficulty maintaining suspense or forward momentum as it feels as though the story is rather scattershot.  Also, its conclusion is somewhat ambiguous, leaving the viewer to what one might characterize as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” type of ending as to what next happened to Jagna.  However, the overarching problem with “The Peasants” is its complex – and arguably unnecessary – use of what could be described as live-action animation.  It’s both confusing and distracting and a case could be made that it was implemented as a gimmick to make the film seem more artful than it really turned out to be.

First, a little technical background about “The Peasants”:  According to some of the production notes, this movie was shot in live-action before being transformed into painted animation; the film was completed over a two-year period using 40,000 oil paintings by a group of 100+ painters from four different eastern European countries.  After the oil paintings were completed, they were sent to animators so the paintings could be repurposed for the movie.  The motion picture is an adaptation of author Władysław Reymont's Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same name. 

This review is a bit of a challenge to write because on the one hand, the focus should be on the tale itself and the way it was chosen to be told by the director.  But it is difficult to comment on the performances of the cast when their live-action efforts have been transformed into oil paintings which were then further transformed into animation.  It is almost as if the director didn’t want the audience to notice the actors’ performances at all and to instead concentrate on the inherent technical “beauty” of his movie.  That’s unfortunate if true because it obviously does quite a disservice to the actors.