corktown common
Thursday, July 31, 2025

challengers

With the short film Haus

There’s only one way to see Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers: on the biggest screen possible, with the volume loud (and, ideally, outdoors on a hot summer’s night after a sweaty game of tennis). This may seem like surprising advice for what on the surface is a story of romance and young adult self-discovery set around a series of tennis matches. But what Guadagnino creates is a high-stakes drama with a pulse-pounding electronic score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that elevates the film’s humble plot from sports drama to Hitchcockian thriller. It’s as if Guadagnino, Reznor and Ross asked themselves: what if Wimbledon was a rave? Equally essential are a trio of powerhouse performances from Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, Josh O’Connor as Patrick Zweig, and Mike Faist as Art Donaldson, who form the film’s central love triangle. The plot follows the trio over a period of 13 years, from their days as students at Stanford with aspirations to be tennis’s next big stars, to adulthood when Tashi and Art are commanding brand deals and television appearances as a tennis power couple, while Patrick has been relegated to sleeping in his car and playing regional tournaments. An ace by any metric, Challengers is essential viewing. 

Toronto filmmaker Joseph Amenta’s Haus is a lovingly made portrait of homeless queer youth who finds refuge in the Kiki Ballroom scene. Makai and his best friend Trevon, played by Mark-Che Devonish and James Bailey, have a unique and undeniable onscreen chemistry, compelling the audience to instinctively react with joy when they celebrate small wins or protectively when the boys feel threatened. Haus’ kinetic ballroom sequences make the film pulsate with energy, highlighting the importance of chosen family, art, and self-expression as one comes of age.