Is the “I Told Ya” shirt worn in the film—and now by the stars on the press tour—an emotional Easter egg? A nod to JFK Jr.? A savvy marketing tactic? The answer is: Yes.
is a lot deeper than the “ Zendaya -has-a-sexy-threesome” marketing would have had us believe. At its core, it’s a dark portrait of a woman grasping for a taste of her lost love by engaging in a frenetic, tactical game of back-and-forth ., I left contemplating the film’s nuanced take on power and obsession—and, bizarrely, my mind kept drifting back to one specific T-shirt.
In the film, the oversized shirt first appears on Tashi during her Stanford days. She wears it during a scene in which she has lunch with Art, who attempts one of his few real power plays in the film. He tells her Patrick, whom Tashi is at this point dating, is no good. Tashi is having none of it. She storms off, the bold letters on shirt offering a final, wordless warning to a deflated Art: “I told you, I’m the one pulling the strings here.
The shirt next appears in a scene when Art is trying to help Tashi rehabilitate her knee. Patrick, gone from their lives and playing on the pro tour, wears it as he watches them from the stands. It’s a ballsy move from Patrick, who, in wearing the shirt, references his old relationship with Tashi. It’s a visual reminder of the power he still holds over both of the players on the court below. Patrick, we realize, is also capable of bold, aggressive moves.
Looking at the shirt’s journey throughout the film, it’s a clear indicator of the power plays taking place between these three characters.in the ’80s. He wore it tucked into a pair of white shorts paired with a headband while playing with his dog in the park. He looked—well—just like a cocky tennis player. It’s easy to see why Anderson latched onto the look.
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