Randy Newman's MARRIAGE STORY (2019)

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Two cues have been released from Randy Newman's score for the upcoming Netflix film Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach.

 

This is very different from Randy's music for Baumbach's last film, The Meyerowitz Stories, which was just 20 minutes of solo piano noodling.  For one thing this is orchestral (although a pretty small one)!  The cues are a bit meandering and don't really build to anything, which probably suits the apparently subdued tone of the film, but it really sounds like classic Randy.  My anticipation of this score just shot up 100%!

 

 

[A24 4,331]

Thanks Disco! Wasn't aware of the new Baumbach movie. And with a score by Randy Newman, no less! Loved The Meyerowitz Stories.

 

 

And with Scarlett Johansson. That means even Jay will watch this one.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

That one famous theme from The Natural remains his best work. So simple. So direct. Somehow masculine too. Makes me want to chew gum and whack baseballs.

[Jay 37,346]

17 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

Thanks Disco! Wasn't aware of the new Baumbach movie. 

 

I ready posted about it and you already replied to my post about it. 

 

On 8/27/2019 at 8:52 PM, Jay said:

Netflix to release 10 films in theaters this fall, ahead of their streaming debuts

 

 

The Laundromat is Steven Soderbergh’s new film, Marriage Story is Noah Baumbach’s 

 

On 8/28/2019 at 1:35 AM, Alexcremers said:

Hail Netflix!

 

 

[Thor 7,492]

My colleagues have been buzzing about MARRIAGE STORY since they saw it in Venice earlier this year, so I'm kinda curious -- even though I'm NOT a Baumbach fan by any stretch of the imagination.

 

But I had no idea Randy Newman was doing the score. Intriguing!
 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Jedi knights are ready to fight!

And the base in space is run by Admiral Ackbar!

 

Star Wars!

Oh, Star Wars!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

It just dawned on me that a Randy Newman score has literally never gotten a specialty label expansion.  Now, I know a sizable percentage of his scores are high profile Disney films that wouldn't be given to specialty labels, but it's certainly not all!  Is this a thing where Varese is holding a lot of them hostage or something?  I'd love to see specialty releases of scores like Pleasantville or Parenthood or The Natural or Maverick.

[Yavar Moradi 2,597]

Yeah, I'm right there with you in hoping for an expansion of Pleasantville (at least there is an isolated score track!)

 

The only Randy Newman scores I can think of getting later releases (after the time the film is released) from specialty labels are all premieres.

 

Yavar

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

On 10/12/2019 at 6:50 AM, Alexcremers said:

Thanks Disco! Wasn't aware of the new Baumbach movie. And with a score by Randy Newman, no less! Loved The Meyerowitz Stories.

 

 

And with Scarlett Johansson. That means even Jay will watch this one.

Wallace Shawn and Adam Driver. I'm there!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

18 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Wallace Shawn and Adam Driver. I'm there!

The cast is so good it’s almost.... inconceivable!!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

 

 

[Jay 37,346]

Quote

 

The full details of the official soundtrack album for Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story have been revealed. The album features the film’s original music composed by Academy Award winner Randy Newman (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., A Bug’s Life, Avalon, Parenthood, Awakenings, The Princess and the Frog) who previously scored the director’s last feature The Meyerowitz Stories. The soundtrack will be released digitally on November 8 by Lakeshore Records and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. As previously reported, two tracks from the soundtrack are available as digital singles. Marriage Story is written and directed by Baumbach and stars Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Merritt Wever, Azhy Robertson, Alan Alda and Kyle Bornheimer. The comedy drama premiered at several film festivals over the last two months and will be released in select theaters on November 6 before premiering on Netflix on December 6.

 

Here’s the album track list:

1. What I Love About Nicole (3:26)
2. What I Love About Charlie (3:43)
3. Last Critique (1:41)
4. Procession to the Trailer (1:20)
5. Nicole Tells Her Story (1:01)
6. Mommy Phase (1:32)
7. Trick or Treat (1:19)
8. New House (1:32)
9. Sockpants / Dirty Sockpants (1:27)
10. Shouting and Shopping (1:40)
11. Separate Lives (1:12)
12. What I Love About Charlie (Reprise) (1:36)
13. Sgt. Pepper Shoelaces (1:07)
14. End of Story (Credits) (2:46)

 

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/10/24/marriage-story-soundtrack-details/

 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z9MK9JK/

[Koray Savas 2,251]

On 10/17/2019 at 5:23 PM, Disco Stu said:

The cast is so good it’s almost.... inconceivable!!

Love Wallace Shawn in Melinda and Melinda. Underrated Woody!

[Edmilson 7,429]

Maybe another Best Original Score nomination for Randy? I dunno, maybe if the movie gets enough Oscar traction... 

 

He haven't been nominated for Original Score since, what, Monsters Inc?

[Jay 37,346]

Yes

[Disco Stu 15,495]

For those who might be interested, the latest episode of the Soundtracking podcast has Noah Baumbach talking about his collaboration with Randy Newman on both The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story

 

[A24 4,331]

On 10/28/2019 at 9:02 PM, Edmilson said:

Maybe another Best Original Score nomination for Randy? I dunno, maybe if the movie gets enough Oscar traction... 

 

 

Does the Academy like Netflix?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

On 10/17/2019 at 10:23 PM, Disco Stu said:

The cast is so good it’s almost.... inconceivable!!

You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.

[Edmilson 7,429]

On 12/16/2019 at 3:00 AM, Alexcremers said:

 

Does the Academy like Netflix?

 

This year, they will LOVE Netflix, because of The Irishman and Marriage Story. It won't be surprising if Netflix will be the studio with most awards on this year's cerimony.

 

Also, with JNH out of the race and Shore's movie not getting much attention, the road is pretty much clear for Randy. It'll be a battle of the Newman cousins!

[Thor 7,492]

I found this film highly annoying. It's the anti-thesis to what I like to see in movies. But the score was lovely; the little there was of it.

[Edmilson 7,429]

This is funny.

 

On his review, Jon Broxton said that, despite liking the music on its own, he found the score to be actually harmful to the film.

 

Quote

But… here’s the thing. In the context of the film, it actually doesn’t work, or at least it didn’t for me. Newman says he saw the film as being as much of a comedy as it is a drama, especially in terms of the ridiculous legal shenanigans and loopholes both parties have to jump through. It’s a minefield of ludicrousness, Seinfeld meets Arrested Development, and that’s clearly a valid interpretation, but by frequently playing this more comedic angle Newman often undercuts and undersells the more serious drama. The audience watches a devastating emotional meltdown from one of the characters, a confrontation fuelled by bitterness and resentment, or a put-down or slight that cuts one of the characters to the core… and then in comes Newman’s pretty and delicate music as the scenes transition, and it immediately defuses all the tension. The audience is never allowed to properly invest in the emotional weight of what they have just seen, to digest it all and take it all in, before Newman makes it all feel light and dainty and – dare I say it – happy again.

 

It might be an odd criticism to make, especially coming from me, but I personally needed Newman’s score to be slightly less intrusive in context, because as soon as Newman’s music came in it invariably ruined the mood. By pitching the music with this tone, Newman was making me feel emotions that felt completely at odds with how Driver and Johansson had been acting, what their relationship was, and how the screenplay seemed to want me to feel. It’s a rare and almost unprecedented tonal miscalculation from a composer who is normally exemplary at this sort of thing, and I hate that I can’t be more positive about it from that point of view.

 

https://moviemusicuk.us/2019/11/26/marriage-story-randy-newman/

 

However, James Southall had almost the opposite reaction, and said the music worked briliantly on the movie:

 

Quote

The long film has a short score but whenever it appears, Newman pulls things back to elements of those opening cues – and (this is why it is such a sharp score) he uses it at moments when things are going badly, when things are tough – always pulling you back as a viewer to the things the partners love about each other. The combination of that with the narrative going through places where they are focusing on what they hate about each other is what makes it so powerful, and does a lot of work in making the film powerful. Credit to Baumbach for allowing such a powerful use of music in a film like this – it stands out so much and has such an impact despite its brevity, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it nominated for most of the awards coming up soon.

 

http://www.movie-wave.net/marriage-story/

 

I haven't watched the movie, so I don't have an opinion on this matter. But I find it curious that two of the most respectable film music reviewers had almost opposite reactions on the same subject.

 

So, for people who watched the movie, are you on #TeamBroxton or on #TeamSouthall?

[Thor 7,492]

Neither. I'm on #TeamThor.

[A24 4,331]

To be honest, I hardly noticed the music, which is a good thing, right? BTW, my son, the Star Wars fan, watched Marriage Story yesterday and was deeply impressed with Adam Driver.

 

 

So Hoffman, so Driver? We'll soon know.

[Gustavo Joseph 29]

I'm actually a fan of this score, it's very sparse (25 minutes in a 130 min+ movie) and very carefully spotted; Newman and Baumbach makes very clever use of the "marriage" theme, it only appears at the beginning and returns at the end, in a key scene involving a letter. 

My favorite use of the score in the film is the Halloween scene with father and son, they're having a miserable time pretending to have fun trick or treating at L.A. , but the movie is playful and funny, a good instrument to make the dramedy happens. Intelligent use of music, well deserved future oscar nomination.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I love the sound of the pared down chamber orchestra in this score.  It sounds like the orchestras that would play on his classic 1970s albums, which always had an intimate feel to them.

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

I'm inclined to agree. I listened to the score yesterday and thought it was really quite lovely. Definetly one I'll be revisiting soon.

 

As for the film, I started it but had to take a break. The performances were almost too much for me, in a good way (and I'm hardly an hour in!). I was frankly stunned by Driver and Johansson, especially the former, who had better steal best actor this year. And Laura Dern is fantastic, as always. Such a strong actress and probably one of my favourites to watch in current cinema. Oh I should really try and finish this but it's hardly an easy film to watch, even though it's really, really good.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

The movie is very sad and ultimately pointless film. A likable couple deeply in love but each so selfish to take the next step to save their marriage. It just a modest film That needs some editing. Nothing special.

[Edmilson 7,429]

I do find interesting that a relatively young director such as Noah Baumbach decided to use a more experienced composer like Randy Newman, instead of Desplat or some of the usual suspects (Rob Simonsen, Nicholas Britell, Ludwig Goransson, etc). 

 

Usually, young directors only choose older composers for established franchise movies that they already scored before, like Williams on the Star Wars Disney movies, Silvestri on Infinity War/Endgame and Newman himself on the Pixar sequels.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Baumbach is definitely the literary type of person who would be a huge fan of Newman’s pop songwriting of the late 1960s and 1970s.

[Thor 7,492]

Yes. It's fairly common for young, artsy filmmakers with vast film knowledge to look back on film history for their scores. As in the Carpenter vibes of Disasterpeace's IT FOLLOWS, or -- in fact -- the use of Delerue in Baumbach's own FRANCES HA (his best film; really the only one I can stomach from him).

[bollemanneke 3,342]

I love this album. How complete is it, though?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

On 12/23/2019 at 3:04 PM, Disco Stu said:

Baumbach is definitely the literary type of person who would be a huge fan of Newman’s pop songwriting of the late 1960s and 1970s.

 

I was correct  

 

https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/noah-baumbach-music/

[Thor 7,492]

On 1/1/2020 at 4:15 PM, bollemanneke said:

I love this album. How complete is it, though?

 

I don't really care about such things, but I'm guessing it's pretty darn complete. There's not that much music in the film.

[bollemanneke 3,342]

Yeah, I don't really wanna buy it without being absolutely sure though...

[Thor 7,492]

OK. Then others can probably answer the question better than me.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

20 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

Yeah, I don't really wanna buy it without being absolutely sure though...

You only buy complete releases? Just enjoy the music man!

[A24 4,331]

Sorry, I'm not gonna buy it, it might omit an unused alternate version of one of the tracks. I can't take the risk. 

[bollemanneke 3,342]

I don't have enough money to buy incomplete imperfect releases that I enjoy. My cash is spent on LLL-worthy projects.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Marriage Story will never have an “expanded score” release. 

[Edmilson 7,429]

Really? Because the cue list leaked recently, and it's a mess, apparently Baumbach almost drove Newman to the brink of madness with revisions, re-edits and inserts! Just look at this:

 

1M1 - What I Love About Nicole

1M1alt - What I Love About Nicole (alternate)

1M1A - What I Love About Nicole (insert 1)

1M1B - What I Love About Nicole (insert 2)

1M1AB pt. 1 - What I Love About Nicole (with inserts and revision)

1M1AB pt. 1 - What I Love About Nicole (with inserts and revision)

etc

 

Only Matessino can bring us an expanded edit with all the countless alternates!

 

[/joke]

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Here's a podcast interview with Randy about Marriage Story (and Toy Story 4) at The Ringer.  Interesting little tidbit that Baumbach temped the movie entirely with Georges Delerue.

 

(Newman is 41:55 into the podcast)

https://www.theringer.com/2020/1/24/21080751/the-15-most-anticipated-movies-at-sundance-plus-randy-newman

[TheUlyssesian 2,477]

He again wrote most of the score without watching the entire movie!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

5 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Interesting little tidbit that Baumbach temped the movie entirely with Georges Delerue.

Not too surprising considering Frances Ha was tracked mostly with Delerue scores from Truffaut films. He seems very fond of the French New Wave. I got a lot of Renoir vibes from Mistress America. 

[Edmilson 7,429]

Jon Broxton had already said that on his review of the score.

 

Quote

It’s clear that Baumbach saw his film as something of a contemporary version of one of those French New Wave films of the 1960s, akin to something Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, or François Truffaut might have directed in their heyday, where the inner lives and personal turmoils of ordinary people are laid bare for a cinematic audience. This also translated into his vision for the score, because Baumbach temped the movie with classic film scores of the period by Georges Delerue – things like Hiroshima Mon Amour, Le Mépris, and Jules et Jim, among others. As such, when Randy Newman came onto the project, his remit was clear: to emulate the sound of Delerue through his own lens, for a very modern story.