Oscars 2024: ‘Original Score’ spotlight
Each year, audiences and filmmakers alike gather to watch the best of the best take home gold statuettes for their contributions to the craft at the Academy Awards. Anticipation builds, in particular, around the big five Oscars – the coveted ‘Best Picture’ prize, the lead acting awards, and achievements in directing and writing – but these are not the only elements that contribute to a great film.
For those whose interests traverse the realms of film and music, there is no category more interesting than ‘Best Original Score’. A cinematic element that can go purposefully unnoticed or can dictate the entire feeling and emotion of a scene, it’s an art that requires skill as well as flexibility, and a number of this year’s nominees have mastered that balance.
This year’s category includes composers with unparalleled experience in their craft and absolute newcomers to film music. While John Williams proved his rightful place as the master of the craft with a return to the Indiana Jones series, Yorgos Lanthimos recruited Brixton Windmill staple Jerskin Fendrix to score the retrofuturism of Poor Things.
Laura Karpman provided Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut with a gorgeous collection of jazz compositions, but Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer seem to be the frontrunners to take home this year’s title. With scores as weighty and considered as the visuals they accompany, either film seems more than deserving of the title.
Oscars 2024: ‘Original Score’ spotlight:
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – John Williams
With 54 Academy Award nominations to his name, John Williams’ name has been a staple in the ‘Original Score’ category for decades now. He’s the oldest Oscar nominee ever, remaining one of the most well-known and well-loved film composers of all time, and for good reason. This year, he’s nominated for the final entry into the Indiana Jones series, a creative collaboration that began over 40 years ago with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Since then, his theme for the titular hero has become one of the most iconic pieces of film music ever made.
While Williams’ continued contribution to the series demonstrates his unwavering grasp on the art of film music, there’s nothing particularly innovative about the score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It’s perfectly fitted to the franchise it accompanies, evoking all the right nostalgia for the bullwhip-swinging archaeologist, but there are contenders for the title this year with slightly more to offer.
Still, many of the other contenders are certainly indebted to the pioneering work of Williams in the field of film music, and the composer still deserves to have praise and thanks heaped upon him.
American Fiction – Laura Karpman
Laura Karpman doesn’t quite have a reputation or resume as weighty as Williams’, but then again, who does? While she may not have franchises as big as Indiana Jones to her name, her score for American Fiction is no less captivating or considered.
Starring Jeffrey Wright, Issa Rae and Tracee Ellis Ross, the directorial debut from Cord Jefferson tackles themes of race and liberalism through misconstrued literature and dark comedy. The main character, Theolonious, dons the nickname ‘Monk’, an ode to the jazz pianist of the same name, so it’s fitting that Karpman provided the film with an equally jazz-indebted soundtrack.
Her Julliard training shines through in the technical prowess of the score, but the compositions never feel too controlled. They flow and emote with the film but work just as well as standalone pieces without their accompanying visuals. It’s a gorgeous collection of jazz compositions, one likely to go underappreciated at this year’s Oscars, dwarfed by more prominent names and films.
Killers of the Flower Moon – Robbie Robertson
Martin Scorsese is a creature of habit, and Killers of the Flower Moon seems like the culmination of that fact. The film saw him bring together his long-time on-screen collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro to tell the story of the Osage murders, though they were both outshone by Scorsese newcomer Lily Gladstone.
Scorsese also favoured a previous collaborator when it came to the music for his film, recruiting the late Robbie Robertson to compose the soundtrack. The pair had previously worked together when Scorsese directed The Last Waltz, documenting The Band’s apparent farewell concert on film.
It was evident that the score for Killers of the Flower Moon was going to be special from the moment the trailer was released. It’s consistently powerful but never overpowering, faithful to its subject matter and to Robertson’s musical background. It comprises a strange orchestra of instruments but never loses its gravitas, humming beneath scenes just waiting to be noticed.
The score seems like a frontrunner to take home the award, and it will be more than worthy of the title. Even Scorsese deemed the score the beating heart of the film.
Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
Ludwig Göransson’s contribution to Oppenheimer seems like another likely contender for the golden statue. After honing a lengthy collaborative relationship with Hans Zimmer, director Christopher Nolan first worked with Göransson on Tenet in 2020. The pair reunited for his latest offering, which has already taken home awards for its achievements in sound editing.
Soundtracking characters and stories plagued by power, morality and guilt, Oppenheimer has a terrifying and haunting score. Incorporating violins and intentional moments of silence, it’s steeped in those emotions, at times panicked and at others petrifying. The scope and scale of Oppenheimer seems difficult to match sonically, but Göransson managed to do the film justice.
Göransson already has a ‘Best Original Score’ title to his name for his work on Black Panther, and it seems possible that he might pick up a second. Oppenheimer already seems to be the frontrunner at this year’s Academy Awards, with 13 nominations to its name, more than any other film this year. Perhaps ‘Original Score’ will be one of the titles it claims.
Poor Things – Jerskin Fendrix
Receiving a nod from the Academy for your first venture into film scoring seems like an unlikely feat, but it’s one Jerskin Fendrix has achieved. Also known as Joscelin Dent-Pooley, Fendrix was classically trained before finding his place in the Brixton Windmill scene and working with the likes of Black Midi. Now, he’s turned his attention to film composition and delivered one of the most innovative soundtracks in recent memory for Poor Things.
Taking on the mammoth task of scoring the story of Bella Baxter, Fendrix’s score holds onto his experimentalism but is unbelievably committed to the tale it accompanies. It utilises instruments that require breath for sound to represent her new life while maintaining that surrealist, uncanny feeling of the film. It’s the perfect addition to the gorgeous retrofuturist scenery and off-putting dialogue.
The film also marks the first time Lanthimos has collaborated with a composer, and it only seems to have elevated his auteurship further. Poor Things has been the subject of much debate, but there is no doubting the technical prowess of the film. Fendrix may seem like an unlikely contender to take home the title at the ceremony, but it’s a promising look at a whole new world of film music.
