Challengers Explained: The Ending, Love Triangle, Real Life Story, What Really Happened

Challengers the new Luca guadino film starring zindaa Josh o Conor and Mike Feist as tennis Champs caught in a love triangle began garnering interest as soon as it was announced and while it certainly does feature some steamy moments it turns out that the film is about much more than just the average competition over a girl love triangle that we often encounter on film so what is Challengers really about let's unpack that plus take a look at the real life origins of the story and what that wild ending really represents initial promos and reviews of the film pretty much all f focused on how sexy and racy the film is so it came as a surprise to some that while the film does have its sexy moments that isn't the focal point of the film The Threesome that got so much pressed before release actually stops before they really go all the way and that is because of the thing the film really wants to unpack power before we dive in let's take a look at the story setup the film follows three highly skilled tennis players Tashi art and Patrick on a non-chronological journey through their relationship art and Patrick met his kids at a tennis tournament and then met Tashi at a tournament as high schoolers they were all very good but she was the true rising star in the tennis world Tashi Duncan she's going to turn a whole family into millionaires she have a fashion line the foundation they're all instantly drawn to one another and Tashi instantly clocks their very close relationship which the movie Never Dives too far into but we can feel suggestions of in lingering shots but they say they don't have a problem that they're both into her he's asking for your number so am I you both want my number this is what leads to the steamy threesome moment from the trailers that sparked so much interest online but this doesn't just end up being some run-of-the-mill hookup what this scene really allows us to see is how tshi so enjoys being in control not just of the boys individually but of their relationship with each other she stops things short of going all the way but this setup the shifting power the underlying spark is the thread that connects the entire film Tashi is the force that pulls art and Patrick together literally but also the spark that blows up their relationship after stopping the threesome she says that she'll give her number to whoever wins the match the next day which ends up being Patrick leading to them dating for some time but then when tashi's injured in a match and Patrick isn't there but art is the Sands shift again and she leaves Patrick for art the trio are clearly physically and romantically drawn to each other in various ways but the real thing that connects them and lights the fire in all of their relationship is an underlying jealousy this undercurrent of rivalry keeps them going and connected and when it disappears so too do their Sparks for life after tashi's injury and her getting with art they don't see Patrick again for years and during this time everyone's Drive begins to drain Tashi no longer able to play herself becomes Arts coach but is clearly more interested in pushing him to do what she wasn't able to then helping him for his own sake art does become a success but loses all of his fire for the game and judging by his constant sullenness life itself it's a dynamic we often see on screen between overbearing parents and children where the parent desperately pushes the child towards the achievements that they for whatever reason weren't able to attain themselves in the same way Tashi uses art as a standin for herself and so becomes angry at him because of what she perceives as failures of her own trying to reach the unbelievably High bar Tashi has set does Propel him to superstardom but it also zaps both of them are their love for the game and each other Patrick's career went in the other direction straight into the gutter leaving him sleeping in his car and playing low-level matches for prize money to get by it's not until they all cross paths again that those dormant vibrant feelings begin rekindling you want my best piece of advice for you want me to C you okay quit hi everyone after you watch this video don't forget to click on the link in the description below and check out our patreon Channel where you get to vote on a total take topic every every month and join the conversation and get adree early access to some of our select main Channel videos this love triangle is notable because it does function in all directions it's not just the guys fighting over Tashi but also working through their own complicated relationship I think in in every triangle and in every um relationship where there is jealousy at stake the triangle has to touch all the corners and the jealousy has to be directed in every direction not one we see them all trying to figure out how to get power in their own lives and power over others and Power in the World At Large and there are no heroes or villains here everyone makes mistakes and hurts the others and themselves each character provides the other with something integral to the core of their being and without it they feel that emptiness even if they can't quite put their finger on it screenwriter Justin Kitz his told vulture even in a relationship between two people there's always a sort of Imagine third presence for a lot of people it's like Jesus or it's their conception of themselves or their parents or their friends but in a love triangle that third presence is not imagined we've seen how this realization of that third presence can completely throw an existing friendship into chaos in films like the iconic ien recent Indie hit and Oscar nominee past lives also explored this Dynamic of being pulled between two people and two lives feeling like you'll have to leave behind a part of yourself regardless of which path you'll take and that film was interestingly written and directed by Selene song who is married to Challenger screenwriter Justin kitzis though he's been adamant in interviews that the fact that they've both recently written films on this topic isn't a reflection of issues in their real life relationship Challengers of course makes comparisons to the back and forth of relationships and the ping pong Hing of tennis but zooming out we also see the similarities in the way that acute focus on a feat of athleticism and a love can both rapidly narrow your focus in film The Moment someone sees their true love is often not framed that differently than the moment an athlete focuses in as they're about to achieve their goal the world stops everything slows down everything zeroing in on that one point of interest and here that point of focus is both the game and the love or rather loves athletes often talk about chasing that Moment of Zen where everything comes together and we've all been trained by movies to look for that in love to some degree and here we see these characters circling this moment of their own not quite knowing that that's what they've been searching for until it finally clicks but before we unpack that ending let's take a second to look at the real life stories that inspired the film ksis has stated that his initial inspiration for the story was watching the 2018 US Open match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka it was an intense game between two immensely talented players and also at a spark of drama when Williams received a penalty that she disagreed with kurkis was drawn in both by the power of their playing but also the inherent drama of the sport two people alone on this world stage every move Amplified and analyzed he also read eight-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Andrea GSI open an autobiography to understand more about the psychology of what what it's really like to play on that level but another similarity to real life that fans and notably Serena Williams herself noticed was with the story of Roger Federer and his wife Mira they were both Rising tennis stars in the late '90s and early 2000s and got together at the 2000 Olympics where they both played for the Swiss team the people here are very nice so is the guy is the guy you're with is he very nice yeah he's very nice Mira had to retire in 2002 due to a foot injury and so went on to help Roger with his career particularly with marketing and scheduling until he retired in 2022 Williams noted the general similarities of the story in her review of the film for vog she also pointed out that while tshi and art were clearly codependent in a negative way at that high level of sports it's key to have people close to you that care for you if you're on top no one speaks to you you're alone so much that you end up being really dependent on your team and their opinions thankfully Roger and Mira do seem to have a much more supportive relationship than art and Tashi it's your name on the trophies it's your name all across the record books but you didn't do it by yourself you had a great team behind you all the way my wife's been so supportive and she could have stopped me long long time ago but she didn't she kept me going and allowed me to play so it's amazing thank you while art and Tashi might not have the loving relationship of Roger and Mira they did end up with a kind of happy ending of their own Challengers ends with Patrick and art finally going head-to-head once again as their matched in the Challenger event both have lost their Lust For Life and Love of the Game art was pushed into the event by tshi in the hopes that it would restart his drive to win so that he could finally win the open and she even tells him that once again their entire relationship rests on a game if you don't win tomorrow I'll leave you she had also though gone to Patrick and asked him to throw the game so that Ark could win in and then slept with him the match is rather lackluster until crucially Patrick signals to art that he had again slept with tshi at First Art is pissed but we quickly see that this has relit a fire within him they rocket the ball back and forth with Tashi sitting in the middle on the sidelines who actually wins in the end is left ambiguous because that's not what really matters when you see tennis either you go to the to see it in Live or you watch it in TV it's a very objective kind of experience and I thought about it making very subjective Kurt is told vulture although the stands at a challenger are mostly empty the players emotions are just as if they were at the US Open because they're fighting for their lives the real win is that all three of them have at least for a moment been jolted back into that vibrant emotional state they had all lost so long ago they had all been worried about glory and fame sure but what they had really been searching for was that feeling they've been been forced to confront their roads not taken their poor choices their failures head on and at the very end break through to find that fire of life that had been snuffed out so long ago the real win in life is finding that thing or person or people that sets your heart Ablaze that's the take click here to watch the video we think you'll love or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications and make sure to subscribe to our patreon for exclusive new videos

Channel: The Take

Views: 51,046

Keywords: the take, video essay, video essays, explained, analysis, movie, film, challengers, zendaya, challengers explained, josh o'connor, mike faist, luca guadagnino, challengers analysis, ending explained, challengers ending explained, tennis, love triangle, serena williams, naomi osaka, roger federer, mirka federer, roger and mirka federer, relationship drama movies, who won in challengers, tashi, tashi art and patrick, fact vs fiction, movie vs reality, zendaya movie, tennis movie

Id: V1V5BgI3fr4

Length: 11min 4sec (664 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2024