BONES AND ALL: Interview With Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross

After being shown a four-plus hour cut of Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All – one void of any washroom breaks, mind you – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were left speechless. “Our minds were blown,” says Ross. Adding to their almost flawless oeuvre of accomplishments as film composers, Rezor and Ross have once again crafted a score that is emblematic of how music can (and should) elevate a film’s emotional presence.

Shifting between horrific depictions of violence and tender dances of romance, the score is essentially a character in its own right, and is arguably the narrating voice that audiences lean on. In fact, Reznor recalls his first meeting with Guadagnino, where he talked about using the Midwest as a character in the film, and in the same vein, making the music a character in the film as well. “He explained to us that we’re making a great romantic and tragic love story, and perhaps that love story could be anchored by an acoustic guitar playing a beautiful melody that reveals itself over the film.”

The duo ended up composing around 10 pieces for the film prior to seeing a rough cut. But it was really after seeing that extensive sampling of the film that their creative instincts kicked into full gear. “We saw a cut, and shortly thereafter, [our] minds were blown, the transformation of the written page into living, breathing characters filled with vulnerabilities,” says Reznor. “And the beauty of his camera work and the set design and the sense of place and just the sadness of the story came into full focus for us, and we were off to the races.”

This sentiment of collective emotional clarity certainly comes through in the film, where a melancholic acoustic bedrock helps cement the score in a way that feels haunting and warm at the same time. The complexity of the score’s own identity almost mirrors the emotional intricacies of the film’s characters. And to help guide Reznor and Ross in their creative process, Guadagnino provided them with a number of different phrases and words to dictate specific points throughout the film. “But he’s not a prescriptive person,” says Ross. “I truly believe he invites you into the filmmaking and he wants you to feel like a collaborator. We were incredibly invested in this film on an emotional level.”

Here’s hoping another collaboration is on the horizon. Bones and All is currently playing in theatres.

We want to thank Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for speaking with us.