Challengersis the ultimate example to date of what has become a distinctively Zendaya screen energy.
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Denis Villeneuves twoDunefilms are bookended by Zendayas face.
The final scene of the secondDuneis an overt nod to the end ofThe Godfatherbut with a twist.
She was funny, likable, and nailed whatever assignment she was given.
But she was rarely at the center of the stories.
Everything changed with the expressionist HBO teen soapEuphoria.
Every red carpet outfit is calculated for maximum shareability on social media.
Theres also a sort of meta layer in watching it.
Art and Patrick are reflected, dueling on the court.
She doesnt gain weight, put on prosthetics, do an accent, or otherwise foreground the mechanics.
Zendaya has a strong jaw, big eyes, an almond-shaped face, and a skinny neck and arms.
Theres a coiled ferocity that complicates and belies her outward presentation of waifish international glamor.
Her acting is technically assured but never cold or mechanical.
Any reading seems valid and none are unsupported by Zendayas choices in the scene.
The layering works because of Zendayas blend of excitement and detachment.
Shes specific but not a micromanager of the audiences judgments and feelings.
She mastered the high-as-a-kite persons inappropriately big Thats fucked up!
In some ways, though,Euphoriawas the most lived-in character Zendaya has ever played.
Zendaya alone saved the movie from spiraling into its creators navel.
What people?, she asks.
A lot of different people, he replies.
Its so brief that it barely registers, but there are years of disappointment in that syllable.
Malcolm & Mariewas also the most-panned role of Zendayas career.
Perhaps some ingenue residue clings to her despite her attempts to shake it off.
When you love somebody and feelwiththem, you tend to rationalize away what doesnt work.
