iana’s review published on Letterboxd:
it’s remarkable that luca guadagnino finds tennis boring to watch because i have never seen the sport filmed with such energy and reverence. but that’s also precisely why he’s perfect for challengers – who better than an outsider to see tennis for what it is. it’s a conversation, it’s about judgement, it’s observation. so many of luca’s films are about looking, no wonder he can infuse so much tension and meaning into the simple act of the crowd tracking the back and forth of a tennis ball. who’s watching the players when no one else is?
what’s even more thrilling is that he understands tennis beyond what happens in the game. he focuses so intently on the routine: the superstitious tics that lead into the serve, the parading of bodies in the breaks between sets – and how explosive it is when that calculated composure is broken by a scream, an impulsive expletive or a racket being smashed to bits on the court. and when the players hone in on that precise power and rhythm and synergy that makes tennis good tennis, there’s even something erotic in that. it’s everything i didn’t know i wanted in a tennis movie.
