Keeping Score: ‘Challengers’ is the sweatiest soundtrack ever
Luca Guadagnino has never been shy about shooting his actors in the sexiest ways.
Call Me By Your Name, the film that brought him to international attention, is all about the erotic longing between two taboo lovers. There’s also Queer, which features Daniel Craig getting hotter and heavier than he ever did while playing James Bond. Perhaps the most erotically charged entry in his discography is a film that combines the competitive intensity of professional sport and romance, a film that made the internet wet its knickers upon release and inspired multiple ‘dream threesome’ scenarios the world over. I am, of course, talking about Challengers.
Released in 2024, this all-out horn-a-thon stars Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor as two tennis players, each with a personal connection to an enigmatic and seductive former prodigy played by Zendaya. The film is full of tense moments between the three friends-turned-rivals-turned-lovers-turned-whatever, as the sexual desire erupts in various heavy-handed, yet incredibly effective sports metaphors and churro eating. A movie this intense needs a score to boot, and Guadagnino knew exactly who to turn to.
The Italian maverick got in touch with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The pair had previously scored the director’s cannibal love story, Bones and All, but this time, he wanted something slick. “The way he described Challengers was on a one-sentence email,” Ross explained to Variety, “Do you want to be on my next film? It’s going to be super sexy. Two x’s.”
Guadagnino later elaborated that he wanted a soundtrack reminiscent of the 1990s techno scene. Given that Reznor was right in the thick of the ever-evolving music business in the ’90s, he was the perfect man for the job. “Luca said, ‘What if all the music was driving, thumping techno, like a heartbeat that makes the movie fun?’” explained the Nine Inch Nails frontman. “Fun” is most certainly the word you would use to describe the finished product, especially the piece that soundtracks the film’s epic climax.
‘Challengers: Match Point’ is an instrumental that plays over the showdown match between Faist and O’Connor. A fast-paced, pulsing dance track, the piece perfectly captures all the animosity that has been building between the two athletes across the runtime. As the sweat drips down their faces and bodies, a sight the cameras pay great attention to, viewers are transported to the equally drenched nightclubs where this style of music was born. It captures the determination of both to win, while also reminding the audience that tennis is a form of voyuristic entertainment. The pair are expressing their deepest desires in the same way that ravers at a club would, only with rackets in their hands instead of glowsticks.
In an era where film music feels more homogenised and unremarkable than ever, here was a soundtrack that not only worked perfectly in its natural habitat but managed to capture mainstream attention as well, hence the outrage when it was deemed unworthy of contenting for ‘Best Original Score’. However, the Academy’s oversight aside, the Challengers score revived public interest in film music beyond background noise or sentimental cheese pulls, but also provided the perfect accompaniment to some of the best movie moments of the year.
