challengers it's always described as hot, sexy, steamy, etc., but there's hardly any real sex in it. The romance comes mostly from Zendaya's character and the power she has over these two men, on and off the tennis court. The film's tagline could come straight from “Head Like a Hole”: “Bow to the one you serve.”
Like Donaldson, Reznor and Ross thrive on following directions, giving us something Reznor acknowledges he probably wouldn't have thought to do. “Luca said, 'What if all the music was driving, pounding techno, like a heartbeat that makes the movie fun?' he remembers. “I don't know that we would have landed on this on our own.” True to Guadagnino's brief statement, Challengers (Starting Score) offers a smorgasbord of powerful club sounds, from electroclash (“Yeah x10”) to synth-pop to fast and functional techno. Each feels like a docile exercise in the genre, but with a sonic signature that's unmistakably Reznor and Ross, especially in the way instruments like piano and gel guitar are so slick with synths and drum machines.
The music works brilliantly in the film, driving the action as it follows it, less a backdrop than a bold counterpoint to what's on screen. Take, for example, the moment the kick drums start pounding during a dorm argument. Or, more generally, the idea of rave music as the soundtrack to a tennis drama, a pairing that works so well you probably wouldn't notice how contradictory it actually is. As is their music for The social network, Ross and Reznor's score opens up dimensions to the film that would otherwise not be visible. Almost every review of it challengers has especially praised the score—even in the case of the BBC, when they're shooting the film itself.
Ross and Reznor's previous soundtracks, as inspired as they were, never worked as albums outside of the context of their respective films. The music is on challengers it stands on its own better than any of the music from the rest of their scores, but the record as a whole still has a bulk that's typical of the format, with many tracks clocking in at under three minutes and some appearing and reappearing on multiple releases . Apparently wise to this concern, Ross and Reznor hired German DJ and producer Boys Noize to create a complementary mixed (and remixed) version of the OST—no mean feat given the dramatic range in the beats, but one that handles passion, creating a tight half-hour of party rockers, dusted with samples of rackets going off and sneakers screeching on clay. Boys Noize's mix brings it all together in a smooth, dynamic arc and offers a much more interesting version of “Compress / Repress”, bringing in some edges that shouldn't work but absolutely do.
“Compress / Repress,” co-written with Guadagnino and sung by Reznor, is an example of where shared artistic control is confusing. Historically, Reznor has lent his voice to music that valued honesty and authentic personal expression above all else. This song has a different feel: The lyrics perfectly complement the film's themes, and the production is the kind of straight-forward synth-pop you'd never get from Nine Inch Nails. For this lifelong NIN fan, learning that the lyrics weren't just Reznor's was clarifying and, in some ways, a relief. watching him do another artist's bidding is oddly humanizing. As a movie theme, it's fine. As a Nine Inch Nails track, it would be a bit vanilla. Anyway, at a screening this week in Berlin, some audience members gave away chairs and danced their way through the closing credits.
