Music vs. Realism
Soundtracks. Are absolutely amazing. They can highlight a story beautifully, they can elevate it, lift it up, push it down, manipulate it; music, in film, is truly spectacular.
But is it real?
It’s something many don’t often consider. Something that often escapes us, something that we can’t quite touch upon, since it’s barely noticeable. But the truth is, music — is actually fake.
Even in the most ultra-realistic psychological drama, the soundtrack is fake. It’s smart manipulation. Take, for example, Ex Machina. A film that, surely, builds itself through raw realism. A film that, yet dystopian and sci-fi in nature, is generally extremely life-like and presents truth.
And yet, eerie classical-like music plays on the background. But the characters don’t hear it. It doesn’t exist in the world, it’s an add-on by the filmmaker, and deeply external.
The only situation where the music would be internal and true is if it’s used as in Big Little Lies. There, most of the soundtrack is actually played by characters in the story. They hear it on earphones or speakers and it’s later elevated for the viewers ear. Sharp Objects is another example of this.
But there aren’t many more.
You may ask – isn’t, then, everything artificial?
Yes. Because if there is a dramatic night-time scene in a thriller, the lighting is manipulated, too. If there is a scene in the Vatican, it’s a set someone built. Yes, it is all artificial. Take The Revenant. A film that used, for the most part, genuine costumes, props, locations, etc. A film that used all natural lighting. And yet again, even The Revenant has a soundtrack throughout.
The point at hand is: music in ultra-realistic raw films is far from ultra-realistic and raw within itself. It’s actually external. As is the lighting. As are the costumes. It’s how it is all. It’s all fake and smart, smart manipulation.
So, then, is the film realism?
Yes. It is. Because it presents genuine human truth and a real story. And, at the end of the day, it’s only the story that matters and the truth that comes with that. That’s exactly the beauty of cinema. The ability and opportunity to alter and change reality. The opportunity to presents the world as necessary. The opportunity to manipulate everything in order to tell exactly the story you want to tell.
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Essay on what films should do here.
Ex Machina soundtrack here.
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