As the world premiere of “Bones And All” approaches at the Venice Film Festival, it’s easy to forget that Luca Guadagnino has another movie on the way. “Challengers,” set for release next August, stars Zendaya as the wife and coach of Mike Faist‘s tennis pro, who’s in the middle of an epic losing streak. How could it get any worse? Well, his next opponent is his wife’s former lover, played by Josh O’Connor. Will that match-up incite competitive instinct in Faist’s pro?
If that premise sounds slightly different than Guadagnino’s usual fare, it’s true. A tennis drama isn’t something expected from the man who makes sultry, fashionable, and erotic dramas like “I Am Love,” “A Bigger Splash,” and “Call Me By Your Name.” “Challengers” also doesn’t fall in line with Guadagnino’s streak of the grotesque either, as “Suspiria” remake and “Bones And All” attest. At a talk in Maratea with Venice director Alberto Barbera as a lead-up to the festival, Guadagnino divulged why “Challengers” is his next film. “My first comedy, set in the world of tennis,”
So, is his first foray into comedy due entirely to the screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes or what? Not quite, said Guadagnino. “I always did what I wanted [in my career] and I I’ve always enjoyed doing it, I’ve never been frustrated,” he told the audience at Maratea. “It is a privilege that I have built with a lot of determination over the course of my film career. Maybe only once, with “Melissa P.,” brake blocks were put on my work: it was a very bitter experience, but at the same time it gave me a very strong freedom, because it made me understand that I would no longer make a film that I would not have absolute control over.” In other words, while it’s an outer in his filmography, “Challengers” provided him an outlet to express his creativity unencumbered.
Guadagnino shot “Challengers” earlier this spring and summer in Boston. Does that mean the director is done working in Europe. “It’s not about Italian or non-Italian films, but about going where your desire takes you,” Guadagnino continued. “I’m not ruling out anything, I could make a film in Italy tomorrow with all-Italian characters. Cinema cannot be traced back to the nationality of directors and national cinemas have, in one way or another, all serious dysfunctions, so going around them is the best way to avoid problems and take advantage of the virtues of each possibility.”
It sounds like Guadagnino followed his inner daimon to “Challengers” from the sounds of things, and that’s all there is to it. Did the director say anything about “Bones And All” as it approaches its world premiere? “It’s the most intense love story I’ve ever shot, a final love story,” he told his audience. That’s a bold claim, especially considering “Call Me By Your Name” and its central love story. As for a question relating to his personal style, Guadagnino doesn’t brook such cohesive visions of his work: that “would be a gesture of hubris, if anything,” he said, “I am interested in worlds, systems, relationships, genres.”
So, “Challengers” and the quirks of the tennis world are Guadagnino’s latest calling. How will it fare against his other films? Audiences find out when the movie releases next summer, on August 13, 2023, from United Artists.