The Long Good Friday (Francis Monkman)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAXxYKave6o A good film soundtrack is not just one that matches the rhythm of the action it accompanies. It should embody or reflect the characters and the environment in which they find themselves; it should feel, in other words, as organic as the performances. Francis Monkmans soundtrack for The Long Good Friday is a classic case in point. The combination of jazzy, sassy saxophones and moody synthesisers encapsulate a city on the brink of sweeping change, halfway between the old, classy ways and a new way based upon ruthlessness and aggression. The fast tempo and in-your-face repeating riff throws us straight into the action and gets the film off to a rollicking start. There are two scenes in The Long Good Friday where the music perfectly encapsulates the emotional underpinnings of the film. The first is the entrance of Harold Shand, played by Bob Hoskins in what is still his finest performance. He strides through the airport like a colossus, having just got off Concorde and looking like he owns the place (which, to be fair, he probably does). The saxophones indicate Shand is a man of style and swagger, a man keen to impress but the synthesisers continue to rumble underneath, betraying the ruthless streak that lies just beneath the surface. The second is the famous last four minutes, where Shand finds himself in the back of a car, being held at gunpoint by an IRA gunman (a very young Pierce Brosnan) and being driven away to his death. As the opening titles play once more, the camera stays on Hoskins face as he goes through a whole gamut of emotions. The fast tempo pulls us into his characters panic, and the music gradually fades and slows as he comes to accept his fate. The final drum fill and cut to black symbolises the shot that will kill him, and we are left to admire one of the most riveting uses of music in cinema.
Daniel Mumby