Challengers (2024) is an American romantic sports drama film focusing on a love triangle between three professional tennis players. Challengers was directed by Luca Guadagnino, an Italian director known for his deeply personal, emotional, and intimate films — he also directed Call Me By Your Name (2017) and Bones and All (2022). The movie was based on a script that ended up on The Black List, the annual list of the best-unproduced scripts in Hollywood. Upon its release, it was praised by critics and earned a score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the film, struggling former tennis champion Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) plots a comeback with the help of his wife and coach Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), and ends up entering a challenger (the second-highest tier of men’s tennis tournaments) where he faces off against Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor), his former best friend and Tashi's ex-boyfriend.
Challengers follows a non-linear timeline, jumping between the past and the present. The main focus of the film centers on the decisive match between Art and Patrick, adding tension for the viewer as, through flashbacks, important details of their relationships are revealed. The character-driven story delves into the complexities of human relationships, showcasing the amazing performances of the main cast.
Throughout the film, the characters and their relationships are explored, and a very evident attraction between Art and Patrick is portrayed on the screen. In some scenes, Art and Patrick look attracted to each other, especially in a flashback where they both express interest in Tashi and begin what seems to be a threesome, only for Tashi to step back and lead them into a passionate kiss.
Although this clear attraction is never addressed in dialogue, the characters experience jealousy and affection for each other. Bisexual attraction does not have to be expressed in actions; bisexuality encompasses heterosexual and homosexual attraction or behavior. The movie clearly portrays bisexual attraction.
There’s a scene that confirms Patrick is bi, where we see him swiping through Tinder profiles featuring women and a man. However, the character is not the best portrayal of bisexuality, as he is shown being untrustworthy, using sex for his benefit, and being involved in Tashi cheating on Art.
In a Queerty interview, Zendaya addressed the movie being viewed as queer with a “Hello? It’s there!” and talked about the relationship between the characters Art and Patrick being addressed by the director with a lot of complexity.
Despite much discussion online about the bisexuality in Challengers, (even a publication calling it “the most bisexual films in recent history”) there is not much representation in the movie. The attraction between Art and Patrick, is never addressed in dialogue or in the plot. While there is bisexual attraction, there is not much bi representation. Even though people are still bi regardless of the relationships they engage in, it would have been nice to see the bisexuality of the characters explored more fully. Nevertheless, the movie was a very engaging story, with complex characters, an interesting screenplay, and stunning visuals.