The Reel Review
A love triangle involving a former tennis prodigy and two former best friends, one a star in a losing slump and the other a washout shooting for one last chance at success, escalates when the two players meet in the finals of an ATP Challenger tournament that could drastically change the life of the winner. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist star in this romantic sports dramedy.
Incorporating clever dialogue from first time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, thumping techno music, homoerotic imagery and literal in-your-face point of view camerawork, director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) has created his most over-the-top sexy film yet. Time jumps gradually reveal the complicated history of these three.
Zendaya’s Tashi, who due to injury is now the wife/coach of one of the players and the former girlfriend of the other, is the heart and soul of this film – a charismatic, laser-focused opportunist who, frustrated with these two lesser talented men, resorts to drastic measures to get the best performance out of each of them, illustrating that as she says, tennis is itself a relationship.
REEL FACTS
• Zendaya trained for three months with player-turned-coach Brad Gilbert to prepare for her role.
• Most of the tennis balls in the film were computer generated, to capture the fast moving, on-court action.
• Timothée Chalamet and Jacob Elordi were each considered for the roles that ultimately went to Mike Faist (West Side Story) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown).
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