LimeWire Music Blog

It’s fall again, and that means one thing: lots of Oscar-contending movies.
If you’re having any trouble deciding which well-crafted,
exquisitely-acted drama to see in the coming months, why not get
objective and judge the films
by their preview music?

I’ve looked at five trailers for
this season’s prime Oscar bait, and rated their music on a 5-point
scale (5 = awesome). Here’s what the preview music for these
films tells us:

1. Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard, the true tale of a British newscaster’s interview with Nixon, based on an award-winning play.

The gist: We start with some
classical fare. This quickly cuts to 70s funk followed by The Who’s
“Baba O’Riley.” Near the end the mood swings again, as Clint Mansell’s dark instrumental piece “Death is
the Road to Awe,” originally written for the film The Fountain, pounds away.

The take-away:
Frost/Nixon is serious AND funny. No, really. It’s all about the 70s
(which were mostly fun!) as refracted through our darker, more cynical
times (which are
serious).

Score: 2/5; choices are standard (”Baba O’Riley” has become the high school
slut of movie previews); schizophrenic tone is off-putting.

2. The Changeling,
directed by Clint Eastwood, set in the 20s, about a woman (Angelina
Jolie) who has the wrong child returned to her after her real son goes missing

The gist:
The sound of rain and plodding
strings opens. Then more strings..then MORE. Actually, it’s “House of
Cards” by Audiomachine. In fact, by the time you finish reading this
paragraph, “House of Cards” will have been edited into two more movie
previews.

The take-away: Clint Eastwood has crafted yet another Oscar float; we’ve heard it all before.

Score: 0/5; blah

3. The Soloist,
directed by Joe Wright, about the friendship between an LA journalist
(Robert Downey Jr) and a homeless music prodigy (Jamie Foxx). Read:
buddy flick + unflinching look at a social problem + Shine = Oscar.

The gist: We’ve got some funny contemporary music to start, then bam, Bach’s Cello Suite No.
1 Prelude. More contemporary music, then back to the Prelude, with the
piece’s most uplifting moment scored over a shot of the rising sun and
Downey Jr saying “friend” a lot.

The take-away: This movie’s going to be a contemporary classic. And did we mention uplifting? Uplifting!

Score:
3/5; the contemporary bits are weak, but sticking to the Bach cello
piece throughout is a good call..given it’s a movie about a
cellist.

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, directed by
David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt as a man who is born old and ages
backward (based on the first preview released).

The gist: A clock ticks as we are introduced to the Aquarium
movement of The
Carnival of the Animals suite, by Camille Saint-Saëns, an old
chestnut. There’s no dialogue featured in the preview at all (except in the beginning
and end), just a series of images from the film accompanied by
Saint-Saens’s spooky score, which has become Hollywood shorthand for
“fantasy” and “Christmas.”

The take-away:
Fincher’s latest will haunt you with its evocative beauty, like the
aquarium of your fantasies. Did we mention it’s coming out at Christmas?

Score: 4/5; Fincher’s images really are so cool-looking that you forget the score is hackneyed

5. Revolutionary Road, directed by Sam Mendes, based on the 1961 novel about an unhappy 1950s couple, played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The gist:
Happy music opens on the couple as they first meet; then some ominous
piano chords focus in on their 50s suburban house. Whoa, it’s Nina
Simone (aka The High Priestess of Soul) covering “Wild is the Wind,”
and her unique take on the romantic ballad rockets this preview into
whole
new territory. The song’s chorus crescendos as it becomes apparent
from what’s on-screen that Kate and Leo’s marriage will similarly reach
a breaking point. Fade to
black on the strains of those opening, ominous chords.

The take-away: Revolutionary Road is a unique, soulful take on familiar material (the unhappy
suburban 50s). You’ll like it if you like good music. Or Titanic.

Score: 5/5; the Nina Simone cover wins for surprise-factor, all-around beauty and best fit with the action onscreen.

THE FINAL OUTCOME: Out of these five, Revolutionary Road
leads the pack for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars. You heard it here first.