Hey guys, thank you for watching the video!! I see there’s some misunderstandings in the comments and I would like to clarify: Tashi is not POWERLESS, she’s just not as powerful as she thought she was. She is a great manipulator! But in the end, her manipulation, came at the end of her affair being exposed, a point which I didn’t mention. I hope this clarifies things! Secondly, it’s perfectly okay to disagree hahah, my title is VERY cheeky for a reason: more than usual. But if you don’t agree that’s okay, the movie is very open to interpretation, and I completely understand that but let’s keep it civil and respectful in the comments!

I just love how none of them really won in the end, Tashi never got to play tennis, Art never got the love and approval from Tashi he wanted and Patrick never got to be the best, I actually doubt he is gonna get to rank very high, he also never figured out what his passion or true love was

The scene when patrick was looking for a place to stay by dating someone on tinder. It had men and women so clearly he wasn't completely heterosexual

She says it “I’m not interested in being a homewrecker.” This is really a love story of the two dudes who just can’t let go and be in love with each other

Also I love that Patrick kind of was more attuned to the fact he loved Art, whereas Art wasn't totally aware of his love for patrick - when Tashi asks them if they ever got together, Art was laughing in incredulity but Patrick had a thoughtful look on his face. He also had a clearer memory of the encounter. When he's making out with Tashi he's getting off while she lists all of Art's qualities (he's smart, he's attractive, he's good at tennis) And the best scene, the Sauna scene, he looks so hurt when Art insults him. "I don't matter?" He genuinely told Art he loved him in that scene and Art was ready to reciprocate yet 😭

Loved the moment where, at university, Art sarcastically asks Pat if he didn't come to see him (instead of Tashi). The funny thing is that yes, he did go to see Art first 👀

If they were just a poly relationship everyone would be happy

in the hotel scene: i think its very telling when 1) tashi asks what they are: patrick immediately says they are in an open relationship at the same time art is taken aback by the question and says the opposite of patrick (he sees many girls) and patrick looks at him very upset at the answer 2) their beds are pushed together indicating that they probably cuddle in their sleep 3) their first time story embarrasses art but patrick holds onto the memory fondly

Tashi only loved tennis and wanted to watch some good tennis. I feel like the ending she got what she wanted. The boys got each other back and she got to watch some good tennis.

i definitely agree with the fact that tashi is not a puppeteer or a mastermind and IS actually pretty powerless in a lot (not all) of the situations. she's been painted as a villain by so many people and i really don't think so... she really was a victim of her circumstances a lot, and her side of the story is honestly just a tragedy of how she's separated from her one true love, tennis, and doomed to live her dream vicariously and fulfill that passion and fire she used to feel through the guys.

my brother described this movie to me as "an evil romantic and two evil bisexuals" and watching this... I think I know why.

Art and Patrick only stop making out in the hotel room because Tashi put a stop to it. They would have kept going whether she was there or not but since she facilitated the first intimate act since before they were teenagers, she unfortunately became the conduit of their passion for each other. By the end, I wouldn't be surprised if Art and Patrick didn't cut out Tashi altogether, get romantically involved and raise the daughter together.

I started out really like Art at the beginning of the film but by the end, it was Patrick for me. He’s always been completely honest about who he was (a pos sometimes) and what he wanted. Tashi and Art just kept lying, manipulating, and were often very cruel to Patrick.

i thought it was great that Art told Tashi "he's not in love with you". subconciously maybe he knew that Art was in love with *him* everyone was saying he was a snake but in my first viewing i was chuckling because i thought he was telling the truth - even if his intentions weren't honest

The churro scene was so intimate that I was literally blushing and my whole body was warm. It felt SO intimate and personal that I felt like I was intruding on something I wasn’t supposed to be witnessing. But I guess that’s exactly what Luca was going for!

I love how in the hotel scene Tashi says she’s not a “Homewrecker” 😂😂😂, this whole movie is a love triangle gone wrong/right

IMO, Art is completely in control from start to end, but pretends to be innocent and willingly hides behind Patrick's and Tashi's foolishness and big personalities. He's the one that started the manipulation in the group. He decided to cut Patrick out of his life, which I believe led Patrick down a dark road of drug usage to numb his pain (notice his serving arm had dark bruising like a heroin attact). He decided to let Tashi reenter his life at Applebee's. Remember, Tashi came from humble beginnings and Art and Patrick came from wealth. Art knew what Tashi was after in regards to him and he used it to his advantage. Being with Tashi, Art knew that would keep him connected to Patrick without having to interact with him cuz he knew those two were hooking up behind his back just like he was hooking up with Tashi behind Patrick's back at Stanford before P&T broke up! This movie was toxic AF!

I think one of the most interesting things is that they are in love and many audience members have said that they should just be together. But the actors and Luca have noted that they still can’t be without Tashi. I am curious as to why since this video says that she is not the main love.

When my sister and I watched the movie we were just like, “Art and Patrick should be a couple.”

see this does make sense to me because thematically the film centres itself around tennis representing a relationship … and the ones playing the tennis with eachother are art and patrick . as you said, tashi, the coach, drives them together. ie think that interpretation of the dynamic is the one that fits with the medium of tennis to tell the story !!

Art does have that puppy energy. He loves Patrick and Tashi, maybe more than he loves tennis? Tashi is gonna turn their daughter into a tennis star and Art is gonna let her 😱.

I was definitely waiting for them to do it. Never happened and that was my problem.

I know I wasn't imagining their sexual tension! I am so confused after coming out of theater because I just don't understand the movie if Art and Patrick are not lovers. When they kiss passionately in hotel I was like, could this be? And when Patrick went to visit tashi at university, he also found art and the way he pulls art's chair closer to him...that was like, THE moment where I was like Patrick probably is in love with art. But I can never be sure and it's driving me crazy because I don't understand this movie at all if they are not in love!!! Especially the ending, when art even smiled after knowing tashi cheated on him and embraced Patrick?? Like why would he do that, if that is not the moment he realized that he loves Patrick too??

I thought I was the only one who thought this movie was lowkey queer coded edit: I just found out that challengers was directed by the same man who directed call me by your name 😭💀

Tbh I do kinda wish Guadagnino had put a stronger exclamation point on Art and Patrick's reconciliation at the end of the film: for example either a) Art deliberately letting Patrick win or b) Patrick beating Art so that Tashi would leave him, and then a shot of Tashi walking out of the venue to signify that she was walking out of both their lives, followed by a final shot of the two men hugging somewhere off-court to signify that their relationship had survived the turbulence of their mutual obsession with her. The way the film ended was okay, but imo all that tension that had built up in the final match was crying out for a stronger payoff and resolution than what we actually got.

This is the "This situation could have been fixed through a Polycule" movie to me. That churro scene was...intense. Revealing the cheating in the finale match and them still embracing in the end really drove home the point this is about their dynamic first. The unresolved set-up of the three of them being involved from the get go sort of created all this mess. One could only theorize about a possible ending of the story beyond the end of the movie...all of them still have a lot of growing to do by the end and did really reach their goal.

Well, if we have to pick a winner, Tashi ultimately won. She wanted Art to get his game back, and she was willing to break him down for it. She ultimately got that. Will he serve Tashi the divorce papers? We can only hope, but he got his game back. If he decides to continue, he's probably going to win the US Open and quite frankly, I've never seen anyone wear success so badly. He should retire. Not just because he has nothing left to prove and is downright exhausted but because he isn't even in it for himself. He's doing it because Tashi sadly got injured so now she is stuck in a perpetual phase of beginning. She's never going to know the feeling of wanting to end because she was robbed of that. But he can't continue living out her dream. I disagree with Patrick when he said Tashi probably hated Art but I do believe that she resents having to live in his glory even when she contributed so much to it and the fact that he recovered from his own injury where she didn't. And I completely get that. Hers was a cruel fate. She was clearly destined for greatness and then having to make a man great in her place...that's a slap in the face in my book. But that doesn't give her the right to do what she did to Art. And i will spell it out because am seeing that a lot of the people in the comments missed this but Art is experiencing domestic abuse. Am seeing a lot of people trying to say he was in on it. And that could be true but not in the movie we saw. Like people, the cheating was literally the most harmless thing of them all. That's more than messed up. Like was I the only one doing the mental math to see if that kid was actually his? And even if she was, the fact that I absolutely believe that she is going to turn her obsession unto her daughter really says how low of a human she is. Great character though. The script did a great job at showing who she was even when we basically know nothing about her. Anyways, that last game, it truly was Art and Patrick living their relationship. It was so encompassing of everything they are. They really are fire and ice. The hug at the end was a mirror of their hug at the start of the movie. I also hope Art is going to kick Patrick right out with Tashi. I hope that scene is like the scene with Art and Tashi in the hotel where it could basically be read as the interaction with a partner right before it ends. It's a testament to the actor more than the script because they really are backgroundless characters. We only see a moment in their lives as opposed to what shaped them. But I started the movie giving Art the bad bro award and by the end, myself and everyone else in the theater were ready to jump in and beat people down for him. Like, seriously, I think our hearts collectively broke at the scene in the hotel bedroom and then again when we believe he was going to catch Tashi with Patrick. Someone get this man help to escape this situation. Like I take my hat off for Mike Faist. The man is ready for his lead role.

Enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the movie; you might also mention that it is key that the brilliant Italian director Luca Guadagnino helms the film. American directors/filmmakers tend to shy away from intimacy between two males; frankly, they're clumsy about it. But Guadagnino is not; without him, the film wouldn't exist, in my opinion. The actors are all fine, by the way.

I think they all loved and wanted to be together. Tennis and ego got in the way even if those same things were what bring them together. Tennis is a relationship. They played each other through the entire film only for the three of them understanding each other in the end.

YESSSSS i love how you put to words everything this movie made me feel!! 10/10 i agree with everything, as you said, tashi is literally just another object of rivality between them and their tension, loved this, thanks sm!!

In the churo scene Patric, uses his foot to drag Arts seat closer to his before he sits down, that says so much about their relationship

i can't believe you managed to put my EXACT thoughts into a coherent video, ughh the brainnnn !! subbed x

Art was in love with the idea of tashi .

Uhh besides the Art+Patrick kiss that wouldn't have stopped unless Tashi interrupted it,, and the chair/churros scene, the scene that reallly did it for me was when Tashi and Patrick were in her dorm room together and she was kissing/touching him and talking about Art's talents and strengths and Patrick was enthusiastically affirming everything she was saying??🥴🥴🥴

This video essay is so in depth and well explained. I can’t wait to rewatch the film for my third time soon.

Everybody kicking the woman out of this scenario *sigh* bisexuality exists yall.

This was excellent and is similar to some thoughts I had that I couldn't word as clearly. Thank you!

I feel like Art and Patrick are somewhat interested in the same things. I think that by finding Tashi it’s a way for them to distract themselves from their subconscious attraction towards each other. Then Patrick dates her and realizes that it’s hard to be with someone like her, and the reason Art keeps wanting her is to distract himself and because he subconsciously doesnt want Patrick to be taken by someone that seems as cool as she is. Tashi knows what she wants from the start, which is primarily tennis, and being with Art later on gives her the opportunity to still be super involved. But romantically, she never knew what she wanted because she felt it would distract from tennis too much if she put her entire focus into a relationship

The way you edit your videos is so beautiful!

I love this video but I think that there may be another interpretation for fire and ice. It wasn’t stated clearly which character was which and I think that’s genius cause it’s up to the viewer to choose. In the churro scene, Patrick is wearing white while Art is wearing red. That’s also the only moment where Patrick seems kinda stable throughout the movie while Art is « liting up » as Patrick said about something finally. So for me in the churro scene we can perceive Patrick as ice and Art as fire.

I love your film analysis, you have good attention to detail!

been watching + loving your channel since your ballad of songbirds and snakes video! keep up the great analyses and content 🫶

when i was watching the film, the whole time it felt like there was just as much sexual tension between art and pactric as there was with either of them and tashi

You are this explanation. One of my fav dark romance movies so far this year

I saw the title, went to go see the movie and spent the entire day searching for your video

Love your review and brilliant analysis. I was think of the same thing while doing the film research...will definitely see it.

The movie displayed to us that Patrick was really interested in Tashi (he was staring at the poster), and that Art was interested in the sport (he was staring at the trophy) of tennis from the beginning. Art began to be interested in Tashi when she let out that scream after she scored the point (love of tennis). Patrick loves Tashi, Art loves Patrick and tennis, and Tashi loves tennis the most. Art was gay and only ended up with Tashi because she was a connection to Patrick. We see that Art knew Patrick had an affair with Tashi, but he didn’t care, if anything it probably made him feel closer to Patrick. Patrick is displayed as someone not bound by gender descriptors and more characterized as gender fluid. Patrick knew Art was in love with him and would mess with Art. The only time we saw a character with a dark moment is when Patrick told Art he slept with Tashi. We saw a completely different side of Art, a malevolent side of him. He reacted like that because he is in love with Patrick. Thats why he tried and succeeded in breaking them up. Patrick lives life the way he wants it, including his love of Tashi and then tennis. Art loves Patrick but is loyal to tennis and Tashi. Tashi loves tennis and also loves Patrick, just not nearly as much. She dislikes that he could be much better if he actually put his all into it. Patrick refuses to do so because he lives by his rules.

Your analysis felt spot on. Very well thought out.

I haven’t even watched the movie yet and from trailer alone it was so clear to me that these two dudes are the actual relationship beneath all the other dynamics! And I haven’t even watched the video yet and I’m sure I will agree with most of it

Chile let me open up a new AO3 tab

Patrick is fire as in hurting the people around him but Art is ice as he is soothing to everyone else

This review gave me an “ha-ah!” moment. So good!

as a tennis player this hit on a different level. best movie ever !!

What’s crazy is apart from the scene where Patrick kinda looks sheepish when Tasha asks if they ever thought about experimenting with each other and their actual kiss scene I never felt like Patrick and art were that interested in each other. Like they both obsess over tashi and if they need her cause she’s a catalyst then I don’t rlly think they’re that into each other

What I see is that the three are in love with each other and with tennis, but each one chooses one true love between those: -Tashi chooses Tennis as her true love -Patrick chooses Art -Art chooses Tashi

To make it short: every film with Josh O'Connor is a good film 😊

If tennis is a relationship, then what does it say about these guys when their formative years of learning the game and hitting puberty was with each other? I love your analysis, though I'd argue patrick is fire and volatile and therefore his emotions are more honestly on display than the other two. If you watch the motel scene again you can see Patrick is silent and sad when Tashi asks if the boys ever hooked up, and he touched himself very briefly after telling the story. It reads as more than desire. And it is a mistake to refer to it as the story of Art's sexual education when it's clear it's a first for both. Patrick may have known what to do, but he has never done it with another person before. It was probably very formative for him and he is a lot more aware of him feelings and desires throughout the film, than Tashi and definitely than Art. You can also see his emotions very clearly in the sauna scene. He is honest in it and Art isn't. The sad truth is when they were young and played as doubles Patrick made art disappear. When they're playing tennis as a team, Art doesn't get a single chance to show himself, to play. Art remains unaware of his own latent desires or feelings towards Patrick until the very end, but by the end of the film an optimist can hope that Art needed the years of separation to grow and see that he can dominate some games then reintroduce himself into the relationship with Patrick in a more balanced way. And Tashi will get to enjoy some fucking good "Tennis".

i dont think this erasure of tashi is more of a "bisexuality doesn't exist" and a biphobic move. i think its more of a specific to this story scenario in which it would be better without tashi because her character just clearly is not interested in any of the 2 guys or anything other than tennis and because her relationship with both guys was toxic asf. it would be healthier if patrick and art got together and tashi just coached patrick with art also coaching him sometimes but artrick is clearly the healthier option because first of all we see that their dynamic is healthy because of the strong friendship they had and after years of rivalry and pining, the 2 seem to get over that huge gap and rivalry towards each other at the end of the movie which shows that in the future those 2 can have a healthier relationship that would actually work out. and this ending does not in any way indicate that they're suddenly not bisexual because they bery clearly were attracted to tashi, it just means that they're letting go of a toxic relationship/person

Great analysis girl.

Art is supposed to be the good guy but he’s just as bad as the rest of them

Pat and Art should’ve said fuck the match and ended up together If they do another movie I hope they delve into Pat and Art’s relationship Cause baby that sauna scene got me thinking real hardddd when Patrick said “I Dont Matter” and Art was contemplating so bad on what to say cause it seemed like he wanted to say “You Do Matter to Me” but he dogged him out instead

This was a great take and this video shared my same thoughts! I’m surprised people are seeing Art as this mastermind though. I think Patrick and Tashi were the manipulators who both wanted something out of Art. Patrick is the person that Is all talent, raw passion but no discipline . Art is disciplined but doesn’t have that natural talent Patrick has or passion. He’s easier to control though which is why Tashi goes for him later on. Between Tashi and Patrick they see each other for what they are , selfish pieces of shit. And Patrick wants art to be less timid and be more like him so show that passionate side. Tashi though wants art to use his discipline to be a good tennis player. She’s willing to use herself to encourage him to be the best at the game and Patrick to fire Art’s jealousy. Patrick is willing to use Tashi to Also rile up art to care about something. So they all use each other Tashi uses them to fuel her love of tennis, Patrick uses her to get passion out of Art and fuel his love for him, and Art kinda uses Tashi as a trophy or proof to Patrick that he’s beat him at something Also there’s a toxic love there. Patrick wants art romantically but knows Art doesn’t want him so it’s this weird dynamic of half resentment so he thinks if I can’t have you I’ll take what you want, Tashi. But he still loves Art so he wants him to stand up from himself and take what he wants (tashi) and stop being so passive about life so he can build his confidence.Then Art’s whole planting seeds thing seemed like a weak attempt at being a player like Patrick and Tashi. Patrick is even happy and respects Art for going to the dark side or trying. Art seems like the person that Tashi and Patrick are just trying to corrupt not the one who is smarter than all of them

An enigma that eggs you on. Nice alliteration

your video totally convince me to go and see it for myself; mostly through trailers I'd deduced the threesome plus tenis love affair but in the back of my mind "well it would be far more interesting to have the two male protagonists kiss and just have Zendaya in the background playing chess manipulation game or yenga in the actuall movies" like excuse me I love Zendaya, she's amazing in the movies and during the fashion shows, but Spiderman destroyed her in my eyes a bit; as in every romantic movie I see her in I just wish any endgame boy was played by Tom Holland. It was the same case with Brat Pitt and Angelina Jolie after Mr and Mrs Smith

love the video!! tho i must say, as someone who's seen the movie two times and gravitated towards art and away from patrick both times, i feel like you made patrick seem much more.. evil? ig? than he is this isn't shade or me saying you're wrong or did something bad lol i just think you didn't mention that, while for example, yes, art did try to undermine #that one experience they shared at 12yo, patrick didn't treat it as just a funny story. he seemed genuinely hurt when art tried to do so when explaining it to tashi. i think patrick actually considered that to be an intimate moment. there are multiple times in the film where you can see art trying to run away from his attraction to patrick (which is definitely there let's be real), but patrick has always been sort of confident in his bisexuality. when tashi first meets them and says she's not a homewrecker, art says "we're not together," and patrick jokes, saying "it's an open relationship." ofc that's a joke but there was some truth sprinkled in it for him, i feel. i don't think patrick tried to use sexuality to intimidate art as much as he was trying to get to him and trying to get both art and himself to realize their feelings for each other. ofc i'm not saying patrick's perfect, again, i was team art both times i'd seen the movie and i found patrick to be kind of a prick, but objectively looking at the story of the movie, patrick isn't as much of a villain as he's portrayed. i'd even disagree with the notion that he didn't love tashi, because that's something we only heard come out of art's mouth, not his but anyway, that's just some of my thoughts on the movie. again, i really loved the video!! ❤️

Really good review

I totally agree with you !

I'm really shocked at what people thought they were going to see, did no one watch the trailers?

It’s between all 3 characters that’s literally the whole point of the movie it’s a love story between tashi/art/patrick? This is not a revelation

Not gonna spoil but the ending was really nice

I dont really get what patrick been doing for 13 years to the point that he's broke, or maybe im missing something, can someone explain?

Sounds like a Leo Scorpio relationship burn to the ground😂😂

That's some serious bisexual erasure I can not tolerate!

My interpretation is that Tashi is the game of tennis and the movie is about Art and Patrick's relationship with tennis. The two young guys meet Tashi after their first win at junior US open. After their first taste of victory they are smitten. Patrick is the first one to shoot his shot at Tashi and he also turns pro first. After a short stint Patrick rejects Tashi's demands signifying that he never gave tennis a serious commitment it needs. So Patrick's career goes nowhere. Art is the opposite. He seeks validation and self identity in tennis. He does anything and everything Tashi demands. For that Art is rewarded with accolades and a family. But at the twilight of his career he is tired. He still loves tennis but he can't keep up with what the game demands of him anymore. The two fight over Tashi like she is a tennis ball but they see different things in Tashi and in tennis. Art wants her approval. Patrick wants that last high.

spot on.

Maybe I'm just atypical but I actually sympathized with Patrick the most at the start since Art was trying to place seeds of doubt in Tashi and Patrick's relationship and Tashi was just using everyone.

I absolutely love the comments section here!

Kinda agree .....love story between Pat n art

Zendaya is really likeable, and a definite Movie Star. I haven't seen Euphoria or The Greatest Showman, but based on this movie, Dune and the Spider-Man movies, I've found her to be quite a one-note actress. Josh O' Connor should be arrested for thievery. He stole this movie with his performance.

I think all 3 only truly loved tennis and winning. They used each other for this purpose. They had a ‘by any means necessary’ mindset’. All 3 characters were villains. Clever dialogue, mainly. But the frequent and unnecessary cursing seemed like they were kids trying to ‘talk like adults’. Still, great acting but I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone.

❤️

yes!!!

all 3 of them are toxic

Okay I kept thinking about why Art was upset with Pat. My theory is that Pat was naturally good compared to Art who had to work with it. In the chilis scene Tashi asks Art if he and Pat have played each other or been in contact. Which Art replies that he has not. I think Art is mad at Pat (expressed in sauna scene) because as Art continued to improve even before Tashi. Pat did not try to improve to at least meet Art in a game. While Art improved himself. I think Art did this initial improvement because he wanted to play against Pat again. I think Art is mad because Pat let him down by never trying to be as good at tennis.

Personally this is how I perceived it: Tashi knows she has power for both Patrick and Art. BUT Art can be conniving in a sense of being a snake. Art is the typical new generation man where he shows hes a "Nice guy" but clearly hes not. Patrick is the old generation man where he knows who he is and he knows what he wants and is very open about his decisions. Tashi and Patrick sparks that Passion Chaos. Art and Tashi sparks the grounded part of a relationship. The typical Successful family. As Tashi screams "COME ON" at the end, she sees this as a relationship between Art, Tashi and Patrick knowing that they have known each other for so long and would know how to spark that between each other especially that Passion between each other. There could also be an underlying Attraction between Patrick and Art especially when Art seems to long and talk about patrick throughout the film all the time and Tashi noticed it, but im not too sure about that

Say no more. Convinced me to go watch this film. Really looked down on it thinking it was cliche.

But why repeat the same scenes over and over? 😢

YESSSSSS

Is like a jennifers body interaction...patrik Being jennifer in a way

I WANT A SPINOFF WITH ONLY ART AND PATRICK 😭

how did art when i mean his daughter my not be his his wife cheat on him, and we still know if he beat patrick, i mean pat was in the top 300 with out doing nearly the same amout of work.

I wish those two boys got together, screw tashi😂

Main Takeaway: The movie is good, watch it for yourself.

I disliked this film a lot despite being a interesting watch made by very tableted people. Great cinematography. good acting, okay story. great pairables with tennis and "the game" they play with each others feelings. but i'll never watch it again because I can't stand watching toxic people. it's a gross showing of people doing bad things to each others. the Kid just felt like an emotional pron for the audience to have more feelings and once was enough for me

Absolutely no argument from me.

Disagree. Tashi is the worst, the manipulator. She IS the central character. Patrick is the sympathetic character.

wrong! the movie is actually about the main character, tashi.

What a cliche collegiate interpretation. Even the language, just straight out of university. Nothing original here.

It’s a toxic love story between all 3 of them 🙏

fujoshi