Thursday 16 August 2012

Movie Music Misuse

I just have to say that I think music in movies and television is extremely important. No better way to enhance emotion; a tool used by the director to increase the audience's appreciation of the moving image on screen.
Great examples: "500 Days of Summer", "Reservoir Dogs", "Garden State" - just to name a few.
Unfortunately sometimes, the director is way off and misuses the music. A glaring example is a movie I recently watched, "Hope Springs." David Frankel directed this sweet coming of middle-age film with two very competent(read: enormously gifted), actors - Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. As if these two need some sappy old Annie Lennox song to help convey their emotional turmoil to the audience. Mr. Frankel, no music or sound at all was needed throughout most of this movie. If you think that the writing and acting was not strong enough to get the message across (and it seems you did), then you completely wasted the talent of two of Hollywood's finest. I felt a little embarrassed when the manipulative music came on during some of these emotional scenes - as if I needed to be told what sort of emotion I should be feeling! The music did the opposite of what it should have - I felt distanced. Hard to imagine that Mr. Frankel also directed "The Devil Wears Prada," but I guess the genre was easier to work with.
Here's hoping that the misuse of music in movies (and TV) is kept to a minimum - better yet, hire me as your music supervisor and I'll guarantee that this horrible faux pas never happens.

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