Kicking off our series of the best music in film in 2015, here’s our list of the best use of music — be it scores or diegetic songs — in film. All of these musical choices are crucial to the film’s narrative, often forming a key emotional moment.
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Kurzel’s Macbeth emphasizes tone over text
Kurzel takes his cues from the text, but he expresses his ideas about the text through images and sounds — the whistling wind, the clashing swords, and the ghostly hooded figures — rather than through the dialogue. The verse, in Kurzel’s hands, is barely even identifiable as poetry. But what is Shakespeare without the unforgettable language?
Henry V at the RSC is more Hal than Harry
Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 chronicle the growth of feckless frat boy Hal into sober ruler-in-waiting Harry. Henry V should be the culmination of that transformation: the growth of a young King into a leader. Yet the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Henry V feels more like Henry IV Part 3. Though this entertaining production is well-acted and effectively staged, Henry himself still acts like a prince and not a king. This may be Director Gregory Doran’s aim: showcase Harry’s (Alex Hassell) ongoing maturation by starting him off as green and unimposing. But Shakespeare’s original text establishes Henry as a man who wields authority: he is a “dread sovereign,” “terrible in constant resolution.”
Anne Émond talks family intimacy in Our Loved Ones
Québécois filmmaker Anne Émond talks about depicting suicide, family intimacy, and her hometown in her moving new film.
Wiseman talks making In Jackson Heights
Master documentarian Frederick Wiseman discusses his editing process and how this informs how he shot In Jackson Heights.
Theeb is a stunning adventure story
Jordan’s 2015 Oscar Submission is a compelling, World War I story about a wily boy and his brother.