Director David Fincher loves applying moody, introspective original scores to his tales of alienated young men and downbeat detectives. For The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, he hired Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and post-industrial composer Atticus Ross to write the music. They won an Oscar and a Grammy for the former and strong acclaim for both films. Now, Reznor and Ross are teaming up again for Fincher’s upcoming mystery/thriller Gone Girl, based on Gillian Flynn’s whopper of a bestseller, due out on October 3.
For the film’s married couple Nick and Amy Dunne (played by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike), the characters’ mysterious motives could certainly use a musical accompaniment to create an aura of uncertainty and doubt. Reznor and Ross will likely focus more on throbbing electronic beats to reflect Nick’s anxious psyche when he becomes a suspect in the case of Amy’s disappearance. For the flashback sequences of Amy and Nick, a cold, clinical composition could express the difficulty of their marriage.
Although I do not want to divulge too many plot details, since the novel is full of twists, the composers have shown an affinity for defining the conflicted characters in Fincher’s past dramas and their efforts here could result in Oscar gold yet again in 2015. Thinking back to the striking credit sequences for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Se7en and Fight Club has me very anxious to see how Reznor and Ross will set the tone for Fincher’s latest adaptation.
I also wonder if the duo will cover another Led Zeppelin tune for the director, similar to their blistering update of “Immigrant Song” with Karen O for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. “Trampled Under Foot,” “Communication Breakdown” and “Whole Lotta Love” do seem suitable for the Gone Girl‘s storyline, so here’s hoping.
