So many incredible layers. The subtle but huge differences of Art and Patrick’s expressions as 18 year olds vs 30/31 year olds, Tashi’s hair getting lighter as Art’s hair gets darker, Patrick’s messy undisciplined tennis technique vs Art’s texbook technique. I could go in and on.
I swear Marshall, I love your takes (80%) and taste (95%) in media. And wow, Challengers was really a joy to watch again. It's so fresh and modern. In both style and content. I can't think of another movie like it. The fluidity of desire through touch, looks, and tennis was intoxicating. And Art's sly smile and acknowledgement when serving the final volley where he ends up in Patrick's arms. That was both super sexy and orgasmically gratifying. Each time I see it, it literally feels like climax on screen. Incredible.
Patrick in my opinion had a point in that argument, and yet is wrong. Like it’s nuts of him to not support his girlfriend, not take her matches seriously, to claim they’re on the same level as tennis players.. He is NOT her peer, tennis is something he does, tennis is who she is. It’s everything she has, it was her ONE opportunity. It makes sense that she’d never let it go, and clings to the tennis career of Art, and so pissed at Patrick. She would’ve been so much more than either of them. As a black woman in tennis, during the time period of her injury, she would’ve been a literal game changer and legend. Art is another fantastic tennis player, but it’s different.
Isn't he just wrong for not just backing down once he saw he hit a nerve. Cuz tennis is still dangerous. And being distracted is how a lot of injuries occur. If he'd really loved her you'd think he'd have enough sense to pull back. And pick up the argument after the match. Which is why Art did kinda have a point for yelling at him to get out. Cuz he was so insensitive to her needs right before a match. Especially when she already explained to him she had a special routine (like most athletes) right before a big match.
6:40 I think the new elle literacy video mentioned the posters-Patrick is drawn to the Tashi poster where she’s more ‘beautiful’ and Art is drawn to the poster where she’s in motion playing tennis. When they were teenagers Art kept talking about how great she is at tennis while Patrick was talking about how hot she is.
This is a great point and I totally agree with the interpretation, that being said….i feel adidas could’ve chosen a photo where she’s being athletic that isn’t so goofy?
I think Art also hasn’t gotten rid of his manipulative nature it’s just that he is more covert as he is more of a people pleaser in his 30s always asking Tashi (actually or subliminally) if it’s “ok” for him to do certain things like when he asked her if it was “ok” for him to quit Tennis. I think he knows about what her intentions are and he always had but he is fine with grovelling and acting submissive in order to get what he wants. Notice how he isn’t mad in that scene where he says he will retire. He goes straight to her lying beneath her asking to be comforted. He wants her to feel bad and he wants her to feel guilty for living vicariously through him. I’m pretty sure he also mentions Lily using the fact that they have a child together against her which is kind of subliminally giving her a reality check since he is reminded her that she has a FAMILY with him that they both need to take care of. The way he softens the blow by seeking intimacy just displays that very covert nature
He is not in the wrong at all. Why, even if he knows she loves tennis would ask her if he loves her if she doesn't love him at all? Why did she even have a kid with him if all of that was fake? ( Btw the child is not Patrick's. Atlanta happened 8 years before and the girl is clearly like 5 )
Like Tashi was clearly performing. She even said she would stab a child or an old lady if it meant she would not be injured. ( Her mother and daughter just exited the scene ). But why? Why would he play with him? She was the one who looked out for Art, after the injury. Are you still in love with me?
All 3 of them are manipulative, Art is just more covert about it. He could have simply encouraged Tashi to take on other players after he retires because he knows how fulfilling tennis is for her, but he is selfish and wants her to retire with him and wants to guilt trip her about still wanting to be involved in tennis even after he retires or wants her for her to be the one to pull the trigger in their marriage by pushing her "to coach him" and give that ultimatum. In desperation she seeks Patrick right after to plead with him to throw the match so she won't have to leave Art
@@luiscalzoncit2820 I understand why you say that especially because they do have a child but I feel as though he was the one who wanted a child and I think if she did really want to have a child it might be to do with legacy and also to ensure that he stays with her and thrives with her by his side. I do not think she “trapped” him per/se because he does love her. I think she loves the idea of being admired so much that she stayed with him and her love for his admiration could be misinterpreted as love. She likes to look down on him and every scene they have together (exaggeration) reflects that through the height difference even when he asks “Can I kiss you” she was still slightly taller and he is always asking her for permission I think her love is there but not at ALL as much as Art loves her
@@nataliajimenez1870 I 100% agree and people that thing he is innocent and not at all as calculated as the other 2 clearly have not watched the movie closely!
I think the fact that Art was looking at the photo of her during Tennis because he first fel in love with her Tennis ability which leans into the fact that he is a “fan” which is what attracts her to him. Even Art’s first impression of her was that she has a “good backhand” so it shows that Patrick’s “love” for her was purely lustful and he views her at eye level whereas the position she is in with Art is kind of elevated showing her subtle superiority over him.
I really like the white Tashi poster. She looks so dynamic and driven and I like that she is explicitly not as pretty as in the other one. She's explicitly shown as an amazing tennis player, rather than as a gorgeous woman. I always appreciate when films take the liberty of letting their main characters be ugly or weird or pathetic. It's similar in the knee break scene. She immediately breaks down sobbing in pain. She could have done some guttural scream and then theatrically suffered, staring into the camera but instead she looks and sounds like a twelve year old. And rightfully so, that's just how you react to such a horrible injury, no matter how tough you are. But not every film has the integrity to show it too.
I actually do agree here, I do want to emphasise I’m not annoyed she doesn’t look “hot”, I guess in the photo she looks a bit uncomfortable and helpless, almost scared of the ball, and I feel if adidas wanted these images to be strong and athletic it was just a strange choice, I agree it’s good they haven’t made her all glammed up, but I guess I’d picture a strong athletic pose or stature the way she was hitting the ball right before the leg break. The white photo to me looks like she’s about to lose a point rather than crush the competition, but it’s really not that deep, I’m not trying to shit on her too hard 🤣
God, you misread that scene with Tashi and Art the night before the final so wrong it's almost painful. That scene is so intimate, emotionally devastating, SEXY, and vulnerable. Tashi is not unattracted to Art at all. Quite the opposite really. She has always been encouraging and interested in his trajectory as a person and player upon his introduction to her (even before they met). Every time patrick would slyly undercut art's abilities to perform (part of the reason they spectacularly fall out after tashi breaks her knee, at least on Art's growing resentments towards patrick), she pushed back both in the bedroom and outside of it (both to drive/turn on patrick to their shared "unspoken" attraction to him). It's too shallow to simply throw away her feelings towards him in that scene as "disgust", "disappointment", or being fed up with his loser mentality or whatever. I think a lot of people have trouble grapplin why that scene needs to take place and why it happens at all. I'm going into Spoilers but after the sauna scene, Art is clearly still bothered with the conversation he had with patrick and finally feels like he's ready to bring up his growing want to head towards retirement after this season of tennis is over. He approaches tashi in this scene as something he assumes will anger her and its safe to say that he's prepared for that negative reaction and only that: he's ready for an argument to occur. When tashi gives a leveled response to the confession, Art is taken aback, surprised she's feigning a calm moderate response to something that essentially brought upon their union. The anxiety that Mike Faist shows thru his character fidgeting his wedding band (and Luca's camera focuses on this tic, which i think isn't coincidental bc Luca does not waste any shots in this movie and bc of that it's almost like Luca wants the viewer to Read Into Everything) indicates to me that he thinks his want to retirement is something that directly threatens the stability of their marriage. At this point they both know their marriage is truly suffering because of its stagnancy. Neither of them are willing to address the elephant in the room: patrick's absence and presence is still haunting their relationship/hearts, and more relevantly, the fact that art's main reason to continue to play tennis is for tashi's sake. However, in this scene i think art takes the opportunity to address BOTH conflicts by forcing tashi to reconsider the stakes for the final as art's anxiety views and wants the stakes to be. Art turns to leave the conversation at tashi's sterile response (at least to him, and in a way he's right for reading it that way) that it's not up to her & it's his decision and shouldn't be reached because he fears her reproach, but stops bc he can't ignore the lack of truth in that statement for Their relationship as they've known it for the last 10 years. He chooses to pivot his approach for his needed dialogue and presses her if she'll be able to look at him if he still can't beat patrick and tashi says nothing will change stubbornly, but again, none of this stops art's uncertainty over the gravity of a decision he's making for himself that will undoubtedly affect their marriage. This isn't something he can consider and venture on his own when it means so much to Tashi and always has. How does their marriage survive such a drastic change in a constant they've built their lives around? And if we want to avoid that, how do we, as partners, make sure it doesn't destroy us while navigating this hypothetical new life? What are the changes we have to introduce so we can not only sustain stability in our shared future together yet simultaneously rectify the problems that the constant also created? This terrifies both characters in equal measures in that scene and it's expressed in the way the actors clutch desperately onto eachother through Mike as Art being on his knees in front of Tashi, her petting his face as he pathetically looks up at her with his sad puppy eyes, through their slow and tender, sorrowful kisses, or how they try to fill the spaces between each other with their bodies. These characters consider each other so much even when it looks like their moving for their own best self interest and desires (i like to think of them all as missing limbs for eachother acting in benefit and sometimes foolishly against the other). It's physically shown in how tashi caresses art's bare skin through his sleeves, how she lifts up his shirt to rub his lower back but neither ever fully declothing the other and instead art wishes to be held until he falls asleep in her lap, clammering for her warmth, peppering kisses all over her exposed skin from her hands, shoulders, all the way down to the scar that started it all on her knee, while his hand/arm encloses tashi closer to him by her bum as if she's his ultimate pillow. And tashi complies with his request because in that moment she's wrecked by Art's unexpected confrontation. She does not want to leave Art (despite what Art fears she will or Has To out of respect for herself and her effort if he proves to be a loser even after all the coaching/love she's poured into him. In contrast: she's more unnerved by letting his fears become a spoken prophecy for their relationship) and she decides to herself she never wants to see him so hopeless in himself as he is about them at this point or his game again. She's been selfishly ignoring it, she realizes. Not fully rendering it in its scope of desperation and what started that shift (Atlanta..). She's willing to beg for his dignity if she has to because he's sacrificed a lot to get to this point and what Art is asking of her is not a lot in comparison (to partially continue being coached by her bc tashi choosing to coach someone is her ultimate act of love, it is her language and art never wants her to spare him of it in what she thinks is the "good, normal wife" response is) because it's also what She needs (the tension between her and Patrick to be resolved/confronted fully and between him and Art as well). This is my long way of saying that Art essentially gives tashi permission to go and see patrick that night (this is shown in the fact that when tahsi returns from her affair/understanding with patrick, she finds art now sleeping in the room of their daughter meaning he woke up to find her not beside him anymore... if he was asleep at all oop 👀) because he realizes when he was about to drop his plans for an argument that motivates him to win tomorrow's final, tashi's reaction is lacking because she probably already had a similar conversation/fight with patrick related to this topic that depleted her of her anger just like the argument he had with patrick did to his own. I have a lot of other kinda crazy assertions with what these characters want from each other and are doing to the other, but ive been yapping for too long now and i can do this for longer. Such a great film ahhh 💀😭
Interesting outlook. I do think that Art pushed Tashi to meet with Patrick, but not consciously. He pushed Tashi to give him that ultimatum, to coach him because he's tired of tennis and doesn't think that Tashi would love him if he decides to not play anymore, so he wants her to pull the trigger. But Tashi doesn't want to leave Art and goes to Patrick to plead with him to throw the game. It's an expression of her love of Art to debase herself and beg Patrick. We don't know if Art knows that Tashi went to Patrick. She could have gone in a run to release her anger. Art definitely knew about Tashi and Patrick in Atlanta and he never confronted them about that because he "wins the points that matter". He knew that if he confronted Tashi, she may have cancelled their engagement. By not bringing it up he got the marriage, the child and the championships which were the points that mattered to him
@@nataliajimenez1870Exactly, Art is a percentage tennis player like Patrick notes, meaning he's very pragmatic and albeit calculating (sometimes consciously sometimes not so much, i think he could do this way of tackling problems in his sleep it's innate to him atp haha) when it comes to relationships in that sense. Whatever the nature of his intentions, it makes for such great interior character work and conflict building. I love Art's character so much, flaws and all. Same goes for Tashi and Patrick too, the way all of their brains work and trying to figure them out is just SO addicting, but something about Art's brand of crazy Really REALLY works for me 😅
Regarding to the photos: I think it’s meant to represent what each of them see in her. Patrick likes her because of her physical beauty. Art admires her because of her abilities.
This is a great video!! I really like your editing style and I hope you keep it up :) I haven’t seen challengers yet but I really want to so seeing your take on these relationships is very interesting and makes me more excited to see the movie! I will be paying close attention to the points you’re making
Every upload of yours I get so grateful for the TH-cam algorithm for putting you on my home page 🙏 the cuntiness just can’t be ignored and I love your commentary!!!
I think Art doesn't love Tashi sexually, he is just aggressively comphet. The whole "who wouldn't be" doesn't read as loving, but rather external. This is the dream woman. Shes on a pedestal. He is the president of her fan club, just like a gay guy is probably the president of Beyonce's fan club. I'm sure when you are that dedicated, you have ALL the feelings, but over time with lots of introspection you are able to separate the admiration and dedication from sensual romantic love.
Totally ! When Tashi asks if Art thinks She's Jesus, he says "Yeah" There's never real sexual tension between them. He just wants her approval and attention
As a bisexual woman, this is exactly how I perceived it! It baffles me that so many people thought Art was genuinely in love with Tashi. On the other hand, I feel like Tashi is aromantic.
Not to be harsh sounding but trust me when I say no one cares that you pronounced Tashi differently because of your accent lol. I doubt any one would be offended by that. Thats like thinking someone would be offended if you pronounced the name Jessica (Jeh-sa-ca) as Jey-seh-ca. It's not even an enthnic name dude come on 😂 Also i strongly disagree to an otherwise considerable review for this incredibly seductive movie to what you think the basic dynamic is between this trio (which in no offense is the most boring way to describe what's going on, summary wise, and at worse fundamentally confused to what the film actually wants you to take away of the resolution for these characters problem and Why). In my opinion, the most correct/true to the characters and the intent of luca/his camera/the writing and the dynamic is that: tashi loves art AND patrick bc they are irrevocably what tennis is to her and Every way that matters and will never be untied to what she loves about the game for better and sometimes worse (spoiler alert: tashi uses tennis as a tool to connect to the people around her and it is the lens in which she understands them and the world. It is her ultimate love language and how she studies/invests in the people she cares about too). Tashi, in my opinion adores that man lmao and gives hin sooo much grace over, yes, Patrick and sometimes tennis itself. No one realizes how messy it can get being an actual professional coach to your spouse can be, the level of trust, dedication, and paitence it requires. Tashi signing Art up for the New Rochelle challenger is a testament to all of that just as much as it is her using his career as her avenue to peform her lost dreams. Patrick loves Art (though seemingly unrequited) and Tashi (like the creation of a tornado that both of them lose focus in yet also in the same bretah never Truly exclude art's presence from despite art's deepest fears assumes), and ofc tennis is also forever tied to his idea of tennis as well. Tashi and Patrick are both very aware of how they effect each other and the strong and very real emotions that really boil down to Tashi not wanting to admit how much Patrick means to her despite on paper him being someone that frustrates her deeply after he rejects her offer to coach him (aka Tashi's attempt to deepen their relationship that Patrick misreads bc he's too egotistic and emotionally immature and has an inferior complex bc he thinks Tashi prefers Art over him since they first met). And finally, Art loves Tashi and Patrick (for the latter it's a more repressed struggle that also has a common bitter taste of rejection that follows his character towards patrick) for what they make him strive to be, they are his ultimate litmus test to Being in all points of his life after their entry into it. Yet they all also struggle with the growing resentment of this sense of incompletion of homeostasis that carries a weight of anxiety and dread as the conflicts stack and time goes on. No vharacter can be aid to b of lesser importance for this trio to work. Lica literally says he wanted this to be a true love triangle in deliberately makin "all the corners touch". Erasing Tashi from the romantic and emotional tension is crazy work imo, like it's giving fanfiction rewrite sorry. Anyway, this is codependency the movie, desire the movie, and crack-is-inside-the-movie the movie. The wildly different theories pepple have for this movie are always fun to see though, so thank you for taking the time to share and put his together! This film deserves this level of analysis 🎉
Nah tbh I frequently get dragged for pronunciations so I was just like ahhhh Yeah totally fair your interpretation is really good. And more interesting than mine, I hadn’t seen it that way at the time of filming unfortunately
i love that you listened to audience feedback and decided to come back and do it better. youre quickly becoming one of ny favorite creators!! keep it up king🫶
This is such an incredible and under appreciated video
So many incredible layers. The subtle but huge differences of Art and Patrick’s expressions as 18 year olds vs 30/31 year olds, Tashi’s hair getting lighter as Art’s hair gets darker, Patrick’s messy undisciplined tennis technique vs Art’s texbook technique. I could go in and on.
I wonder why his channel isn't more popular..it's really good. The analysis is interesting and quality is pretty good too.
Don't excuse your accent it's very nice I really appreciate your channel keep up the good work 👍🏾
I swear Marshall, I love your takes (80%) and taste (95%) in media. And wow, Challengers was really a joy to watch again. It's so fresh and modern. In both style and content. I can't think of another movie like it.
The fluidity of desire through touch, looks, and tennis was intoxicating. And Art's sly smile and acknowledgement when serving the final volley where he ends up in Patrick's arms. That was both super sexy and orgasmically gratifying. Each time I see it, it literally feels like climax on screen. Incredible.
Thanks so much mate!
Patrick in my opinion had a point in that argument, and yet is wrong. Like it’s nuts of him to not support his girlfriend, not take her matches seriously, to claim they’re on the same level as tennis players.. He is NOT her peer, tennis is something he does, tennis is who she is. It’s everything she has, it was her ONE opportunity. It makes sense that she’d never let it go, and clings to the tennis career of Art, and so pissed at Patrick. She would’ve been so much more than either of them. As a black woman in tennis, during the time period of her injury, she would’ve been a literal game changer and legend. Art is another fantastic tennis player, but it’s different.
You get it!
Isn't he just wrong for not just backing down once he saw he hit a nerve. Cuz tennis is still dangerous. And being distracted is how a lot of injuries occur. If he'd really loved her you'd think he'd have enough sense to pull back. And pick up the argument after the match.
Which is why Art did kinda have a point for yelling at him to get out. Cuz he was so insensitive to her needs right before a match. Especially when she already explained to him she had a special routine (like most athletes) right before a big match.
6:40 I think the new elle literacy video mentioned the posters-Patrick is drawn to the Tashi poster where she’s more ‘beautiful’ and Art is drawn to the poster where she’s in motion playing tennis. When they were teenagers Art kept talking about how great she is at tennis while Patrick was talking about how hot she is.
This is a great point and I totally agree with the interpretation, that being said….i feel adidas could’ve chosen a photo where she’s being athletic that isn’t so goofy?
I think Art also hasn’t gotten rid of his manipulative nature it’s just that he is more covert as he is more of a people pleaser in his 30s always asking Tashi (actually or subliminally) if it’s “ok” for him to do certain things like when he asked her if it was “ok” for him to quit Tennis. I think he knows about what her intentions are and he always had but he is fine with grovelling and acting submissive in order to get what he wants. Notice how he isn’t mad in that scene where he says he will retire. He goes straight to her lying beneath her asking to be comforted. He wants her to feel bad and he wants her to feel guilty for living vicariously through him. I’m pretty sure he also mentions Lily using the fact that they have a child together against her which is kind of subliminally giving her a reality check since he is reminded her that she has a FAMILY with him that they both need to take care of. The way he softens the blow by seeking intimacy just displays that very covert nature
He is not in the wrong at all. Why, even if he knows she loves tennis would ask her if he loves her if she doesn't love him at all? Why did she even have a kid with him if all of that was fake? ( Btw the child is not Patrick's. Atlanta happened 8 years before and the girl is clearly like 5 )
Like Tashi was clearly performing. She even said she would stab a child or an old lady if it meant she would not be injured. ( Her mother and daughter just exited the scene ). But why? Why would he play with him? She was the one who looked out for Art, after the injury. Are you still in love with me?
All 3 of them are manipulative, Art is just more covert about it. He could have simply encouraged Tashi to take on other players after he retires because he knows how fulfilling tennis is for her, but he is selfish and wants her to retire with him and wants to guilt trip her about still wanting to be involved in tennis even after he retires or wants her for her to be the one to pull the trigger in their marriage by pushing her "to coach him" and give that ultimatum. In desperation she seeks Patrick right after to plead with him to throw the match so she won't have to leave Art
@@luiscalzoncit2820 I understand why you say that especially because they do have a child but I feel as though he was the one who wanted a child and I think if she did really want to have a child it might be to do with legacy and also to ensure that he stays with her and thrives with her by his side.
I do not think she “trapped” him per/se because he does love her. I think she loves the idea of being admired so much that she stayed with him and her love for his admiration could be misinterpreted as love. She likes to look down on him and every scene they have together (exaggeration) reflects that through the height difference even when he asks “Can I kiss you” she was still slightly taller and he is always asking her for permission I think her love is there but not at ALL as much as Art loves her
@@nataliajimenez1870 I 100% agree and people that thing he is innocent and not at all as calculated as the other 2 clearly have not watched the movie closely!
I think the fact that Art was looking at the photo of her during Tennis because he first fel in love with her Tennis ability which leans into the fact that he is a “fan” which is what attracts her to him. Even Art’s first impression of her was that she has a “good backhand” so it shows that Patrick’s “love” for her was purely lustful and he views her at eye level whereas the position she is in with Art is kind of elevated showing her subtle superiority over him.
I really like the white Tashi poster. She looks so dynamic and driven and I like that she is explicitly not as pretty as in the other one. She's explicitly shown as an amazing tennis player, rather than as a gorgeous woman. I always appreciate when films take the liberty of letting their main characters be ugly or weird or pathetic. It's similar in the knee break scene. She immediately breaks down sobbing in pain. She could have done some guttural scream and then theatrically suffered, staring into the camera but instead she looks and sounds like a twelve year old. And rightfully so, that's just how you react to such a horrible injury, no matter how tough you are. But not every film has the integrity to show it too.
I actually do agree here, I do want to emphasise I’m not annoyed she doesn’t look “hot”, I guess in the photo she looks a bit uncomfortable and helpless, almost scared of the ball, and I feel if adidas wanted these images to be strong and athletic it was just a strange choice, I agree it’s good they haven’t made her all glammed up, but I guess I’d picture a strong athletic pose or stature the way she was hitting the ball right before the leg break.
The white photo to me looks like she’s about to lose a point rather than crush the competition, but it’s really not that deep, I’m not trying to shit on her too hard 🤣
God, you misread that scene with Tashi and Art the night before the final so wrong it's almost painful. That scene is so intimate, emotionally devastating, SEXY, and vulnerable. Tashi is not unattracted to Art at all. Quite the opposite really. She has always been encouraging and interested in his trajectory as a person and player upon his introduction to her (even before they met). Every time patrick would slyly undercut art's abilities to perform (part of the reason they spectacularly fall out after tashi breaks her knee, at least on Art's growing resentments towards patrick), she pushed back both in the bedroom and outside of it (both to drive/turn on patrick to their shared "unspoken" attraction to him). It's too shallow to simply throw away her feelings towards him in that scene as "disgust", "disappointment", or being fed up with his loser mentality or whatever. I think a lot of people have trouble grapplin why that scene needs to take place and why it happens at all. I'm going into Spoilers but after the sauna scene, Art is clearly still bothered with the conversation he had with patrick and finally feels like he's ready to bring up his growing want to head towards retirement after this season of tennis is over. He approaches tashi in this scene as something he assumes will anger her and its safe to say that he's prepared for that negative reaction and only that: he's ready for an argument to occur. When tashi gives a leveled response to the confession, Art is taken aback, surprised she's feigning a calm moderate response to something that essentially brought upon their union. The anxiety that Mike Faist shows thru his character fidgeting his wedding band (and Luca's camera focuses on this tic, which i think isn't coincidental bc Luca does not waste any shots in this movie and bc of that it's almost like Luca wants the viewer to Read Into Everything) indicates to me that he thinks his want to retirement is something that directly threatens the stability of their marriage. At this point they both know their marriage is truly suffering because of its stagnancy. Neither of them are willing to address the elephant in the room: patrick's absence and presence is still haunting their relationship/hearts, and more relevantly, the fact that art's main reason to continue to play tennis is for tashi's sake. However, in this scene i think art takes the opportunity to address BOTH conflicts by forcing tashi to reconsider the stakes for the final as art's anxiety views and wants the stakes to be. Art turns to leave the conversation at tashi's sterile response (at least to him, and in a way he's right for reading it that way) that it's not up to her & it's his decision and shouldn't be reached because he fears her reproach, but stops bc he can't ignore the lack of truth in that statement for Their relationship as they've known it for the last 10 years. He chooses to pivot his approach for his needed dialogue and presses her if she'll be able to look at him if he still can't beat patrick and tashi says nothing will change stubbornly, but again, none of this stops art's uncertainty over the gravity of a decision he's making for himself that will undoubtedly affect their marriage. This isn't something he can consider and venture on his own when it means so much to Tashi and always has. How does their marriage survive such a drastic change in a constant they've built their lives around? And if we want to avoid that, how do we, as partners, make sure it doesn't destroy us while navigating this hypothetical new life? What are the changes we have to introduce so we can not only sustain stability in our shared future together yet simultaneously rectify the problems that the constant also created? This terrifies both characters in equal measures in that scene and it's expressed in the way the actors clutch desperately onto eachother through Mike as Art being on his knees in front of Tashi, her petting his face as he pathetically looks up at her with his sad puppy eyes, through their slow and tender, sorrowful kisses, or how they try to fill the spaces between each other with their bodies. These characters consider each other so much even when it looks like their moving for their own best self interest and desires (i like to think of them all as missing limbs for eachother acting in benefit and sometimes foolishly against the other). It's physically shown in how tashi caresses art's bare skin through his sleeves, how she lifts up his shirt to rub his lower back but neither ever fully declothing the other and instead art wishes to be held until he falls asleep in her lap, clammering for her warmth, peppering kisses all over her exposed skin from her hands, shoulders, all the way down to the scar that started it all on her knee, while his hand/arm encloses tashi closer to him by her bum as if she's his ultimate pillow. And tashi complies with his request because in that moment she's wrecked by Art's unexpected confrontation. She does not want to leave Art (despite what Art fears she will or Has To out of respect for herself and her effort if he proves to be a loser even after all the coaching/love she's poured into him. In contrast: she's more unnerved by letting his fears become a spoken prophecy for their relationship) and she decides to herself she never wants to see him so hopeless in himself as he is about them at this point or his game again. She's been selfishly ignoring it, she realizes. Not fully rendering it in its scope of desperation and what started that shift (Atlanta..). She's willing to beg for his dignity if she has to because he's sacrificed a lot to get to this point and what Art is asking of her is not a lot in comparison (to partially continue being coached by her bc tashi choosing to coach someone is her ultimate act of love, it is her language and art never wants her to spare him of it in what she thinks is the "good, normal wife" response is) because it's also what She needs (the tension between her and Patrick to be resolved/confronted fully and between him and Art as well). This is my long way of saying that Art essentially gives tashi permission to go and see patrick that night (this is shown in the fact that when tahsi returns from her affair/understanding with patrick, she finds art now sleeping in the room of their daughter meaning he woke up to find her not beside him anymore... if he was asleep at all oop 👀) because he realizes when he was about to drop his plans for an argument that motivates him to win tomorrow's final, tashi's reaction is lacking because she probably already had a similar conversation/fight with patrick related to this topic that depleted her of her anger just like the argument he had with patrick did to his own. I have a lot of other kinda crazy assertions with what these characters want from each other and are doing to the other, but ive been yapping for too long now and i can do this for longer. Such a great film ahhh 💀😭
Interesting outlook. I do think that Art pushed Tashi to meet with Patrick, but not consciously. He pushed Tashi to give him that ultimatum, to coach him because he's tired of tennis and doesn't think that Tashi would love him if he decides to not play anymore, so he wants her to pull the trigger. But Tashi doesn't want to leave Art and goes to Patrick to plead with him to throw the game. It's an expression of her love of Art to debase herself and beg Patrick. We don't know if Art knows that Tashi went to Patrick. She could have gone in a run to release her anger. Art definitely knew about Tashi and Patrick in Atlanta and he never confronted them about that because he "wins the points that matter". He knew that if he confronted Tashi, she may have cancelled their engagement. By not bringing it up he got the marriage, the child and the championships which were the points that mattered to him
@@nataliajimenez1870Exactly, Art is a percentage tennis player like Patrick notes, meaning he's very pragmatic and albeit calculating (sometimes consciously sometimes not so much, i think he could do this way of tackling problems in his sleep it's innate to him atp haha) when it comes to relationships in that sense. Whatever the nature of his intentions, it makes for such great interior character work and conflict building. I love Art's character so much, flaws and all. Same goes for Tashi and Patrick too, the way all of their brains work and trying to figure them out is just SO addicting, but something about Art's brand of crazy Really REALLY works for me 😅
Regarding to the photos:
I think it’s meant to represent what each of them see in her.
Patrick likes her because of her physical beauty.
Art admires her because of her abilities.
This is a great video!! I really like your editing style and I hope you keep it up :) I haven’t seen challengers yet but I really want to so seeing your take on these relationships is very interesting and makes me more excited to see the movie! I will be paying close attention to the points you’re making
Every upload of yours I get so grateful for the TH-cam algorithm for putting you on my home page 🙏 the cuntiness just can’t be ignored and I love your commentary!!!
bro y do u look so majestic in the thumbnail 😭😭😭
that was the first thought I had too💀
Everything you said was so accurate omg
I’m so glad you made this video 🫶🏾
My friend and I tried to steal the Challengers poster from the AMC
Day 1 of asking for the Pictures Online reupload 🙏
I think Art doesn't love Tashi sexually, he is just aggressively comphet. The whole "who wouldn't be" doesn't read as loving, but rather external. This is the dream woman. Shes on a pedestal. He is the president of her fan club, just like a gay guy is probably the president of Beyonce's fan club. I'm sure when you are that dedicated, you have ALL the feelings, but over time with lots of introspection you are able to separate the admiration and dedication from sensual romantic love.
Totally ! When Tashi asks if Art thinks She's Jesus, he says "Yeah"
There's never real sexual tension between them. He just wants her approval and attention
As a bisexual woman, this is exactly how I perceived it! It baffles me that so many people thought Art was genuinely in love with Tashi. On the other hand, I feel like Tashi is aromantic.
Not to be harsh sounding but trust me when I say no one cares that you pronounced Tashi differently because of your accent lol. I doubt any one would be offended by that. Thats like thinking someone would be offended if you pronounced the name Jessica (Jeh-sa-ca) as Jey-seh-ca. It's not even an enthnic name dude come on 😂
Also i strongly disagree to an otherwise considerable review for this incredibly seductive movie to what you think the basic dynamic is between this trio (which in no offense is the most boring way to describe what's going on, summary wise, and at worse fundamentally confused to what the film actually wants you to take away of the resolution for these characters problem and Why). In my opinion, the most correct/true to the characters and the intent of luca/his camera/the writing and the dynamic is that: tashi loves art AND patrick bc they are irrevocably what tennis is to her and Every way that matters and will never be untied to what she loves about the game for better and sometimes worse (spoiler alert: tashi uses tennis as a tool to connect to the people around her and it is the lens in which she understands them and the world. It is her ultimate love language and how she studies/invests in the people she cares about too). Tashi, in my opinion adores that man lmao and gives hin sooo much grace over, yes, Patrick and sometimes tennis itself. No one realizes how messy it can get being an actual professional coach to your spouse can be, the level of trust, dedication, and paitence it requires. Tashi signing Art up for the New Rochelle challenger is a testament to all of that just as much as it is her using his career as her avenue to peform her lost dreams. Patrick loves Art (though seemingly unrequited) and Tashi (like the creation of a tornado that both of them lose focus in yet also in the same bretah never Truly exclude art's presence from despite art's deepest fears assumes), and ofc tennis is also forever tied to his idea of tennis as well. Tashi and Patrick are both very aware of how they effect each other and the strong and very real emotions that really boil down to Tashi not wanting to admit how much Patrick means to her despite on paper him being someone that frustrates her deeply after he rejects her offer to coach him (aka Tashi's attempt to deepen their relationship that Patrick misreads bc he's too egotistic and emotionally immature and has an inferior complex bc he thinks Tashi prefers Art over him since they first met). And finally, Art loves Tashi and Patrick (for the latter it's a more repressed struggle that also has a common bitter taste of rejection that follows his character towards patrick) for what they make him strive to be, they are his ultimate litmus test to Being in all points of his life after their entry into it. Yet they all also struggle with the growing resentment of this sense of incompletion of homeostasis that carries a weight of anxiety and dread as the conflicts stack and time goes on. No vharacter can be aid to b of lesser importance for this trio to work. Lica literally says he wanted this to be a true love triangle in deliberately makin "all the corners touch". Erasing Tashi from the romantic and emotional tension is crazy work imo, like it's giving fanfiction rewrite sorry. Anyway, this is codependency the movie, desire the movie, and crack-is-inside-the-movie the movie. The wildly different theories pepple have for this movie are always fun to see though, so thank you for taking the time to share and put his together! This film deserves this level of analysis 🎉
Nah tbh I frequently get dragged for pronunciations so I was just like ahhhh
Yeah totally fair your interpretation is really good. And more interesting than mine, I hadn’t seen it that way at the time of filming unfortunately
i love that you listened to audience feedback and decided to come back and do it better. youre quickly becoming one of ny favorite creators!! keep it up king🫶