Love Triangle on the Tennis Court – Observer

Except in some rare cases (Meeting pointby Woody Allen, O Borg vs. McEnroeby Janos Metz), documentaries aside, tennis doesn't usually make good movies. United, by Luca Guadagnino, now joins the exceptions, precisely because it takes place in the world of tennis. Otherwise, it will be another cliche, widely watched story about a strong male friendship destroyed by a woman – and a love triangle. Moreover, tennis is also responsible for United There will be more endorphin release and sweat than in a Grand Slam final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which was played in sweltering heat over five matches and with… Break the tie Decisive in the last match.

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An avid fan of the sport (unlike the director), it was conceived by screenwriter Justin Kuritzkis United Like a movie in continuous time induction. The story continues to circulate through time, between 2019 and the early years of the century, like a tennis ball hitting side to side for a soccer player. court. Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) are two young tennis players, friends since they were 12 and partners in the doubles game, known as Fire and Ice, who have just won the US Open in this category. It's then, at the post-tournament party, that they meet Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), the new phenomenon in women's tennis, who not long before witnessed her crushing her opponent in the final, and they both begin to pout at her.

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Tashi is as good at playing tennis as she is at manipulating and harassing boys, and is a skilled controller, and ends up choosing Patrick, removing art from the equation and destroying their friendship. But a serious injury he suffered in a college game ended his career — as well as his relationship with Patrick. Almost 15 years later, Tashi became the coach boss De Art, married him and had a daughter. Art is now a great champion who has not just won the US Open and is in a bad place both physically and mentally. Tashi then enrolls him in the Challenger Tournament, a secondary circuit tournament, which he can easily win and thus regain his level and confidence. What they don't know is that their former friend and friend Patrick, who never left the twisted breed, will be competing in the same tournament.

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All the dreams, ambitions, resentments and frustrations of the three heroes United, like the desire they feel for each other, is mediated, filtered and sublimated by tennis. It functions alternately as a catalyst, a metaphor, a connector, and a crucible for attraction and repulsion, for rivalry and competitive pressure, teasing And the sexual tension between Tashi, Art, and Josh over the years. Until the climax in which everything will be resolved within courtduring a final game played in a state of inspired grace and change, as the game itself would prove greater, more important, and more decisive for the trio than anything else.

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Before filming, Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor trained daily for three months under former player and current coach Brad Gilbert.So, play tennis United Convincing (with a good helping of sound effects). The temporal puzzle that defines the tape from a narrative point of view finds its equivalent in the visual creativity of filmmaking, as… Luca Guadagnino asked cinematographer Sayombo Mukdeeprom and the special effects people to place the camera in a place never seen before in a tennis match, from the inside of the ball to the bottom of it. courtWhich gives us the right to the most brutal views and puts Olho Di Falcao to shame.

Zendaya is a somewhat limited actress, who makes up in presence and feeling what she lacks in dramatic range of action, and Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor are well immersed in their characters, but despite being in their 30s, they have a boyish air. This makes us resist the plausibility of their transition from adolescents to adults. Whatever the case, the emotional and sexual tension between the three characters never ceases to rise even for a moment during the film's 130 minutes, and the “love” of the tennis score has never been so complete and intense. I mean, as in UnitedBecause here the love of the game is mixed with the love of the game.