The Film
Natasha is a young woman who pursues a quest to look for her missing ex-marine estranged father, Douglas Binder, in New Orleans. She is attacked by a gang that robs her of the cash and attempts to rape her outside a diner. Chance Boudreaux saves her from the encounter, showcasing his exceptional martial arts skills. Natasha approaches Chance and offers him $100 per day to help her look for Douglas. During their quest, the duo discovers a deadly human hunting game by a gang led by Emil Fouchon and Pik van Cleef. Eventually, Chance and Natasha pursue the gang one by one, eliminating all of them.
The Scene
The scene between 34:34 and 36:50 introduces the audience to the criminal activity of human hunting and how Emil and Cleef conduct this business. The scene begins with the view of a modern house in which classical music is playing. The scene then proceeds to show Emil playing classical music from a grand piano while looking straight ahead, emotionless. His countenance matches the character’s emotionless activities that involve killing human beings for sport without remorse, which contrasts with the serene mood of the piece. The same scene introduces the audience to the recruitment process through which Emil and Pik select their victims. The cuts between scenes imply that the violent intentions depicted in the dialogue are as habitual for the antagonists as classical music is a regular norm for sophisticated people.
They engage the services of a recruiter named Poe, who identifies homeless ex-military men with no familial connections and offers them money to participate in a “game.” In this scene, Poe recruits another former military man, Elijah Roper. The scene returns to Emil and Pik’s residence where he is still playing classical music. The scene ends with the coda to the classical piece when the client signs the contract. The poetic dynamics of the music and the intensity with which the actor performs the musical part imply a hidden theme of violence as an integral part of the cycle of nature.
Alternative Music
Baroque music would be an ideal alternative to the romantic classical piano in this scene, as it also provides a contrasting background but with more forceful and dramatic undertones provided by chamber instruments. The Four Seasons is an example of Baroque music that would ideally replace classical music. Similar to classical music, Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi has the potential to deliver the dramatic effect that the scene intends to present to the audience, in addition to its grandiose and energetic style. The Spring would be appropriate at the beginning of the scene to set the pace and provide dramatic effects matching the narrative. The Winter section of the music would be suitable for the scene in which Pik explains the hunting game to the client because of its icy effects and fast-paced rhythm that matches the narrative. Further analysis of the rhythm, melody, dynamics, and texture shows the appropriateness of the music to this scene.
Rhythm refers to the controlled speed of music in time, which the audience hears to be fast or slow. The Summer alternates between a fast and moderate rhythm that creates some warmth depicting the season. The rhythm evokes happy emotions such as excitement, joy, and gladness, which are feelings associated with the brightness and warmth of the summer season. The combination of beats, accent, tempo, and ritardando makes the music suitable for this scene, as these elements heighten the audience’s curiosity about the narrative. The music also uses accelerando which builds interest, which would be appropriate in the scene where Poe tries to recruit a new victim and Pik briefs a new client.
Melody refers to the combination of single tones that the mind can perceive as one. Four Seasons’ melodic lines can be described as fast, with both low and high pitches that follow each other in a sequence to create a narrative. The sequence is regularly connected with the proponent melodies to create a smooth interaction between the different components of the music, including interludes and changes of seasons. The combination of two melodies suggests diverging, yet connected themes, similar to the narrative in the film.
Dynamics refer to a music’s level of expression in terms of loudness. Four Seasons employs dynamics in various ways to deliver different variations and moods. For example, crescendos and decrescendos are prominent throughout the music, whereby the volume increases and decreases proportionately to introduce cuts between two simultaneous episodes. Loud and soft sounds are also used equally in the music to mark the beginning or end of a section. Texture is another element in the Four Seasons, and it refers to the horizontal and vertical weaving of the elements in a musical piece. Four Seasons has a homophonic texture, which is characterized by a principal melody with an accompanying countermelody that can be heard distinctly.
Reference
Vivaldi, Antonio. The Four Seasons. St. Petersburg Radio Symphony Orchestra. CD. Pandrup: ELAP, 1998.