The 2011 RopeofSilicon Movie Awards

Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk about Kevin)

NOTES:

You almost have to laugh at how much support Kathryn Bigelow was shown in 2009 for The Hurt Locker by people wanting to see the first female win Best Director at the Oscars. Not because she didn’t deserve it, but more because the attitude now seems to be, “Well, that happened. Now what? What’s next?”

Well, what’s next is the fact Lynne Ramsay knocked it out of the park with We Need to Talk about Kevin, but people are too busy tripping over themselves to talk about anyone else.

From my perspective, Ramsay’s ability to tie together a fractured narrative with such horrific artistry was one of the highlights of 2011. Combined with McQueen’s Shame and Moverman’s Rampart, it’s just as I said back in November 2011 when I wrote these three directors “have delivered three of the most visually striking features of the year.” That article was discussing the cinematography of the three films, but it’s Ramsay’s control of the startling narrative of We Need to Talk about Kevin that places her work above my four runners-up.

My addition of Refn here is probably no surprise as I have now been touting his work since 2009 when I first saw Bronson and he continues to impress with a film I named #1 of 2011 And I know I’m in the minority in absolutely loving what Stephen Daldry did with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I feel I’ve touched on that enough on this site and won’t add any more here.

If I was to take the category any further I would have included Paddy Considine for Tyrannosaur and his ability to keep that story together with a delicate touch that provided a whopper of an ending. And I would like to give a small shout out to Joe Wright for Hanna, which definitely had a few problems, but I just love the kinetic energy he brought to that project.

Cliff Martinez (Contagion)

NOTES:

It was only a few months ago that I hopped over to the Warner Bros. For Your Consideration site and let Cliff Martinez‘s score for Contagion play. While Martinez has been earning plenty of attention for his great score for Drive I find myself returning to his score for Contagion as I not only love the music, but also believe it holds a particularly effective connection with Steven Soderbergh’s film. I have a hard time believing anyone that has seen that film not finding themselves drawn back into that world once that score begins to play and with vivid accompanying imagery.

I also love what the Chemical Brothers did for Joe Wright’s Hanna as that film was one long-form, music-meets-imagery experience for me and the unique techno meets hip-hop score for Attack the Block was another highlight of the year.

One score that didn’t jump out at me until watching the film a second time rounds out my runners-up list. Mychael Danna‘s score for Moneyball is a particularly striking and moving piece of music that adds another layer to a film that goes down ever so easy.

And on one final side note, if you’re a fan of movie scores you should check out Cinema Sound where Sam Smith, musician and frequent Criterion Collection graphic designer, has created a two-part mix of 2011 film music each lasting about an hour. Both are quite enjoyable.