Are You In The Mood?

One of the best movies I saw in 2010 was The Social Network.  Say what you will about it being a movie about Facebook (which it really isn't);  chances are that if you're reading this blog, you not only have a Facebook page, but it was a Facebook posting that alerted you to it's existence, so stop it.  Not only does it contain some of the smartest and fast-paced dialogue that's ever been written for a movie, but the musical score transforms The Social Network into a time-capsule rather than allowing it to be just another movie.

The soundtrack done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch is both breath-taking and unsettling simultaneously.  The twisting and stretching of the synth sounds, the simplicity of the piano, the sexual growl produced by the guitar and drum machine.  You're transported not just to the places you see on the screen by these sounds, but you get in between the wrinkles of "Mark Zuckerberg's" brain, feeling the torment, anguish, conflict, and satisfaction.  Every note enhances the tone of the movie exponentially.

Now imagine, if you will, the opening scene of The Social Network.  Mark and Erica are having a lighting fast exchange of words.  Mark continually interrupts and unwittingly insults Erica, while she just tries to keep up.  Eventually Erica feels so belittled that she announces to Mark that she is breaking up with him at this very moment.  Mark unsuccessfully tries to apologize and salvage the relationship, but Erica is exhausted by the future billionaire, stating to Mark, "You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you are a nerd, but that isn't true.  It will be because you are an asshole."  Erica leaves the bar and also leaves Mark in a defeated pile.  He sips his beer a final time and makes his exit.  As soon as his foot hits the sidewalk, "She Fucking Hates Me" by Puddle of Mudd starts playing.  Not exactly taking The Social Network seriously now, are we?

Music defines the tone of a movie almost more than acting in some cases.  The Social Network is a serious film with biting wit.  If Puddle of Mudd and Linkin Park and Trapt were the soundtrack, the movie would be ruined!  It would be misinterpreted as a boring comedy or a Dawson's Creek ripoff.  Luckily David Fincher helming the film as director got Trent Reznor involved and the soundtrack is incredibly cohesive with the images and performances.

Trent Reznor did not write songs for The Social Network.  He composed a mood.  We believe Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is exceptional not just because his acting was top-notch, but because the feeling from the music gave us context to his mood.  Humans associate feelings and moods with sounds all the time.  If we hear a high pitched siren, we feel concerned or curious or frightened.  Laughter makes most of us feel happy.  This is what Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch have done expertly with The Social Network; a dark yet optimistic mood arises from the tones they've created.

Inception is another terrific example of how music is the mood driver.  Hans Zimmer's ever-increasing "Buhm-buhm" that pounds louder and louder, almost imitates a semi-truck driver slamming on the horn of his rig to wake you up as you dozed off in your car on the highway and are about to crash into him in a fiery, head-on collision.  You wouldn't experience that feeling if Rob Zombie started ripping "Dragula" as Leo DiCaprio was being slow-motion dunked into a bathtub, would you?  Nothing against Rob Zombie, he's great, but his music would not compliment Inception in a moving way.

 

Where The Wild Things Are was a genuinely touching and sensitive movie.  It was not a movie for kids (as it was marketed), but a movie about how we felt when we were kids and how we began to deal with complex emotions for the first time.  Karen O, from Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame, accented beautifully the feelings of adventure and loneliness in the original songs she composed for the feature.  We were playing War with Max and the Wild Things instead of just watching a screen.  If tunes by Miley Cyrus had been the soundtrack, the point of Where The Wild Things would be lost and the movie would mean nothing to us.

I shudder to think about The Graduate's legacy if Simon and Garfunkel hadn't been what I was hearing throughout.  There's no way I can picture the opening credits of Pulp Fiction without "Miserlou" surfing over them.  I wonder how many mediocre movies could have been perceived differently if the music was more sensitive to the nature of the films.  Unfortunately we'll never know.  I'm just glad we have filmmakers and musicians that are cognizant of mood, or else movies would be a completely lost medium of expression.