The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Trent ReznorandAtticus Rosshave composed lashings for some of my favorite films and television show over the past 15 age . The Nine Inch Nails musicians , know for their collaborations with renowned auteurs such as David Fincher and Luca Guadagnino , broke into film composing with their moody and melodious musical score forThe Social connection(2010 ) , which pull in them an Academy Award . What I find most enchanting about their work is that they have no theme song sound — each score they compose feels completely distinct from the one before .

Reznor and Ross ' collaborationwith Guadagnino on his 2024 filmChallengersproduced one of their most talked - about scores . Their compositions for the film were energising and surprising and even sparked a dance party inside my picture field . The score seemed like a shoo - in for award - season glory . However , Challengerswas ultimately left off the Oscar nominating address tilt . Although I consider their work was very worth of recognition , this was not the first clip the composers were overlook . In my opinion , theirstriking score forThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo(2011 ) — arguably the pinnacle of their incredible body of work — was an even big snub thanChallengers .

The Challengers Score Definitely Deserved To Be Nominated For An Oscar

Reznor & Ross' Compositions Were The Most Memorable Aspects Of The Film

From the very first scene ofChallengers , I knew I was in store for something different . The film open with a choir singing over calming orchestral medicine — what one might typically carry from a picture about lawn tennis — however , that perception was speedily shatter . As thematch between Patrick ( John O’Connell ) and Art ( Mike Faist)begins , the two play in near secretiveness until a subtle thumping emerges , bit by bit intensifying as the tv camera soar in on Tashi ( Zendaya).The sound build into a full - throttle techno beat — remindful of a telecasting game — as Tashi watches the ball , completely invested in every stroke .

The cast of Luca Guadignino ’s romantic sports movie Challengers is filled with talented actors who transform this story into something fun and alive .

While their grudge forChallengerssounds unlike anything Reznor and Ross have composed before , I experience it does share a key similarity with their other work — it delve into the inner works of the eccentric and captures their essence while also highlighting the cinema ’s theme . Most composers propose to establish a movie ’s flavour and mood , butevery Reznor and Ross score is about define the agonist .

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While the characters develop older , they continue playing the same games with each other , both figuratively and literally

Challengersis a report about competitor , index struggles , scheming , and desire , and the throb measure of the score mirror the anxiousness and tension that those emotions create . Even when the music slows down and adopts a more traditional sound , it reflects the fictitious character ' inscrutable insecurities . The film constantly jumps through metre , and while the characters farm honest-to-goodness , they proceed playing the same games with each other , both figuratively and literally .

Luca Guadagnino ’s Challengers leave the big question of who pull ahead the match , but the most important and meaningful part of the termination is the hug .

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and stills from Challengers and David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Custom Image by Ana Nieves

Throughout awards time of year , pundit highlighted the motion picture ’s score and thought it wasa given thatChallengerswould be make , particularly after bring home the bacon the Golden Globe . It was by far the most memorable and discussed score of the year , frequently mentioned in nearly every conversation about the moving-picture show . WhileThe Brutalist , Conclave , andThe Wild Robotwere all desirable candidate , Wickedprimarily relies on composition from the Broadway melodious , and I detect theEmilia Pérez ’s medicine as forgettable as the film ’s songs . It ’s a ignominy that the Academy did n’t make way forsomething as bold and original as theChallengersscore .

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Was Robbed Of An Oscar Nomination For Its Score

Reznor & Ross' Score For The Fincher Film Is Their Best Work

WhileChallengersmissing out on an Oscar nomination was dissatisfactory , it pales in comparison to the composers not being recognized for their masterful score forDavid Fincher’sThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . The film is brutal and intense , and for me , no score in recent memory has completely captured the air of a movie quite like their employment here . like toChallengers , the euphony feel like an extension of its booster . Lisbeth Salander is relentless , polar , and a true mystery , and the score — built from eery , experimental sound and unreadable instruments — helped me connect with her on a mystifying level .

The composers discussed their creative cognitive operation withEntertainment Weekly , revealing how they meticulously craft the film ’s identity .

“ We set forth recording things in a different way of life that was all based on carrying out , nothing program . And that would be my limited skill at stringed official document , and trying passages that we would get that and then we would process them in a way that would give us a existent organic , layered feel that felt like something we ’d never done before .

Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor in Challengers.

Another brilliant scene of theDragon Tattooscore is its ability to conjure a creeping sentiency of apprehension . I was on the edge of my rear end the entire celluloid , as Lisbeth and Blomkvist ( Daniel Craig ) fag deep into their investigating . The ghost soundscapes perfectly mirror their growing disquiet , as well as my jump on anxiety , about where the dark history was headed . The musical score work up an almost relentless stress , culminating in a climax filled with sinister revelation . Everything about the music in the film work perfectly — it does n’t just complement the movie ; it raise it to another level , a rarefied feat for any film score .

Reznor and Ross have now collaborated withFincher on five films , andtheir creative process differentiate for each projection . WithThe Social connection , they were brought in previous and composed music after watching the completed moving picture . ForThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , they start out while the movie was still being shot , and had only read the novel . Meanwhile , forMank , Fincher just suggested , “ What if it vocalize like perhaps cheer by Bernard Herrmann and as if it were immortalise in 1935 and this film canister pose on the shelf for 60 days ? ” ( viaGQ )

Year

Challengers Art and Patrick final match

Reznor / Ross Film Scores For David Fincher

2010

The Social internet

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Jordan fighting a robot.

2011

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2014

Headshot Of Christopher Plummer

Gone Girl

2020

Mank

Headshot Of Robin Wright

2023

The killer whale

The creatives ' longstanding collaboration is build on a deep mutual regard , allow for them to continuously create some of their just employment . Reznor talked about their attack to make for with Fincher withThe Film Stage :

Challengers Poster

I mean the key to that workings was a common respect between David and I , which we very much have . It was fun not being the boss for a change and playfulness getting into his head word , and helping him bring in what he saw and heard there .

What’s Next For Reznor And Ross?

The Composers Are Working On An Eclectic Slate Of Projects

Trent ReznorandAtticusRossremaintwo of the most prolific composer in Hollywood , frequently take on multiple undertaking a year . Their most recent score was forThe Gorge , a genre - commingle romance . forthcoming is their first collaboration with Scott Derrickson , andAfter the Hunt , their quaternary project with Luca Guadagnino , which explores a scandal that break out on a college campus . They are also composing the musical score forTron : Ares . However , my most highly anticipated labor of theirs isIntergalactic : The Heretic Prophet , the Modern video biz from Neil Druckmann , the creator ofThe Last of Us .

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Cast

Headshot Of Zendaya In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios' ‘Challengers’

Headshot Of Mike Faist

Movies

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Challengers