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Thank you for acknowledging the subtext of the movie, specially the homoeroticism, i feel most reviewers just gloss over that when its a fundamental part of the movie!
no it's not. they had a pr consultant company who said put the gay shit into it or the critics are gonna tear it apart, that's the only purpose it served. most guys whoa are into 3somes like that don't touch each other and they would never want to
Excellent analysis. Just like you I went into the movie theatre expecting a bland simple tale but was impressed by the subtle storytelling. Challengers is a fantastic piece of cinema.
I think the movie was very subtle when they wanted to highlight the attraction between men. Also, most of the time the way that men's bodies are shown, the way that they are subtily hypersexualized are not common. Most of the time it is women's bodies that have these gazes. I agree with the female gaze but I'm also wondering if there is somehow a queer gaze?. I remember the way that Patrick was introduced when he arrived at the hotel. There were these men that hypersexualized him and judged him for no reason. At first I thought it was somehow the way that Patrick sees himself. However now I think there is a queer gaze toward him to show that maybe he is attracted to men.
You are definitely correct in seeing the lens for actually being a queer gaze instead of a "female gaze" (which i get the conflation here bc women do tend to find the queer lens to be as seductive as the female gaze if not in some cases: more) but its not because of josh o'connor's character highly signaled bisexuality but because the director himself is a homosexual and so immediately imbues the lens with that unique perspective not as often utilized in film. And in this film that specific lens only elevates the intensity of the images and situations transpiring on the screen between all three parties. It illumates even the audience's latent desire for the characters and to see them even more vulnerable, desperate, reckless. I think it's a driving pulse in this film not so differently equipped how the score is.
very interesting points! like you, i initially wasn’t too excited to see it and i didn’t think it was going to be worth seeing in theaters. one of my friends said it was really good though so i gave it a shot and i’m so glad i did. imo, i feel like this is one of those movies that is better on a big screen
