Watch Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor Spar Over Churros in ‘Challengers’ | Anatomy of a Scene
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Published 2024-04-26
In this sequence, which takes place at Stanford, the character Art (Mike Faist), who is attending the university, reconnects with his dear friend Patrick (Josh O’Connor), who has left education to become a tennis pro. Not present in the scene, yet hanging over it, is Tashi (Zendaya), the woman at the center of their complicated triangle.
At this moment, Tashi is dating Patrick, but in this scene, Art is trying to throw a wrench into the relationship. The sequence takes place at the university canteen where the two are chatting over churros. Narrating the sequence, the director Luca Guadagnino said that what is playing out is “a game of rivalry sparkling between these two young boys over Tashi, but at the same time, a jealousy that ignites the relationship also because, probably, these two guys are also jealous of one another.”
That tension is played out in the way that Guadagnino shoots the sequence, holding on a long two-shot as the friends discuss Tashi, then cutting when Patrick realizes the game of manipulation that Art is playing.
“The main guideline in thinking of this movie and the mise en scène was the classic old Hollywood screwball comedy kind of grammar,” Guadagnino said. “Those great movies were all using, in a beautiful way, the stillness of framing to let the performance breathe in all its ambiguities, in all its unspoken conflicts.”
Read the New York Times review: nyti.ms/3UAveA8
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All Comments (21)
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pulling the chair before he sat was a nice detail
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The chair pull?? Im obsessed
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The synchronised bag lift at the end is great. Loved the homoeroticism in the whole scene.
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The chemistry and the acting is insanely amazing
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the way Luca says "GAYme" kills me because it's very fitting
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the EYE contact when they're both chewing, this movie was everything
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Luca is a master in building tension between characters, such a hot scene.
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“you’re not here to visit me?” and “i don’t matter?” are the same
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It’s the inverse Bechtel test 😀Two men talking about nothing else but a woman 😊
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“Tennis is a relationship”. She wanted them to be in a relationship.
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The cinnamon sugar on O’Connor’s face was a nice touch
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The on screen chemistry between these two was positively electric, not just in the acting but also in the compatibility of their energy and disposition, two actors completely in sync for the craft they're trying to execute
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I love the crunch sound every time they bite into their churros haha
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this scene and the sauna scene are absolute perfection
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1:58 THE LITTLE LOOK AT HIS LIPS?? OMG
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I'm so obsessed with Luca's directing style
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Josh O'Connor's face and eyes/eye lashes, the whole thing is very adorable.
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luca guadagnino directing a tennis movie was the best thing to ever happen
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I literally saw this movie two days in a row and I’m foaming at the mouth to go see it a third time. I am so obsessed with this movie. Absolute masterpiece, Mr. Guadagnino. Thank you so much for blessing us with this film.
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My heart when they were both on screen. The chemistry between these two are out of this world ❤
