Photo © MGM Studios
Challengers film still
Challengers
Agonie
(IndiePix DVD/Digital)
Sadly, anyone following Milwaukee headlines will recognize similarities with this film, whose plot concerns a woman murdered, dismembered and scattered across a city. David Clay Diaz’s 2016 movie, set and filmed in Vienna with dialogue in German, follows two unhappy young men with the potential to lash out. One, Christian, is an academically mediocre law student at odds with family and uncomfortable socially. Alex is adrift in the sweaty boxing subculture, fed by violent videos and rap auf Deutsch. Who will be the killer in this intensely observed study of disaffected youth from different ends of society? (David Luhrssen)
Challengers
(In Theaters April 26th)
Luca Guadagnino’s fictional sports film is a springboard for this romantic drama set in the tennis world. We meet best friends Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist) when they are teen roommates at a tennis-teaching facility. During a competition for young tennis players, the boys spot Tashi (Zendaya). They are infatuated, while she is attracted to each of them. The twist is that Tashi, as envisioned by screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes and embodied by Zendaya’s take-charge performance, orchestrates a session of three-way intimacy in the boys’ motel room. A decade later, Tashi is now married to Art and attempting to stage his championship comeback by rebuilding Art’s confidence during a second-tier tennis competition. But an unexpected hurdle appears when Art is matched against his youthful best friend, and Tashi’s ex-lover, Patrick. Always talented, but never fully committed to the game until now, Patrick is determined to find his championship feet. By filming the match in unexpected ways (i.e., from the ball’s perspective), and flashing back to the connections between the three characters, this R-rated drama builds tension around the trio’s constantly changing agendas and relationships. Critics agree. It’s Game, Set, Match. (Lisa Miller)
Unsung Hero
(In Theaters April 26th)
Over the past decade, the demand for faith-based films has grown as the films achieve increasing box office success. Leaning into this trend is musical artist Joel Smallbone, whose musical band with his brother Luke, For King & Country, frequently tops Christian Billboard charts. Joel co-wrote and co-directed this biopic with Richard Ramsey, in which Lucas Black appears in a pivotal role. Joel depicts his family’s early years when his father, David Smallbone (played here by Joel), packs up wife Helen (Daisy Betts) and five kids, for a move to the U.S.. With another child on the way, keeping everyone clothed and fed is a constant challenge. Family morale remains strong thanks to Helen, the family’s spiritual leader. Grounded in Christian faith, she encourages her kids to view their challenges as an adventure. In time, David and Helen realize that Rebecca (Kirrilee Berger) is a gifted singer/songwriter, and the family’s fortunes begin to rise. Parents of seven, David and Helen Smallbone raised a future musical empire. (Lisa Miller)
