Some of you may have heard of a certain film opening this weekend in which Brie Larson has a starring role. Whether you plan to watch Captain Marvel or not, we have a few other fine Brie Larson films we’d like to recommend as a primer. And, if you’re already a fan, then you already know that her 2016 Academy Award-winning role in the powerful and moving Room (score by Stephen Rennicks) is a classic, along with one of her earlier films, The Spectacular Now (score by Rob Simonsen). Most recently, she co-starred in the comedic shoot-out fest, Free Fire (score by Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury). Intrigued? Keep reading.
ROOM – [Download/Listen]
Score by Stephen Rennicks.
Brie Larson’s turn as “Ma” has been described the strongest performance of her career at the time of Room’s release. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Room movie received the Best Director and Adapted Screenplay Academy Award®-nominations, with Brie Larson picking up the Best Actress win. Room also picked up wins at the Golden Globes®, BAFTA, AACTA and many more awards.
Stephen Rennicks’ “masterful” score (HeadStuff) includes an audio clip of Brie Larson singing the classic, “Big Rock Candy Mountain”, which, after seeing the movie, you may find it a truly emotional piece.
It’s rare that a score makes such a big impression on me with the first couple of cues and remains in that state of grace. – Soundtrack Dreams
The score opens, beautifully, I might add with ‘Opening’, a goosebump inducing piano cue. The subtle strings in the underscore is just one note, but it’s lingering there while the piano plays the motif. It’s so perfect. – Soundtrack Geek
A24 presents ROOM, now streaming on Netflix, on iTunes (get it here) and available on Blu-ray/DVD (get it here).
FREE FIRE – [Download/Listen]
Score by Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury.
Ben Wheatley (High-Rise; Happy New Year, Colin Burstead) adds Brie Larson to this ensemble cast of characters including Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, Sam Riley, Michael Smiley Jack Reynor, Cillian Murphy, and more. Film Festival attendees remarked on how loud the film was with its epic shoot out scene (not really a bad thing), and the witty dialog is as rapid fire as the bullets.
The soundtrack featuring score by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury (Annihilation, Ex Machina, Black Mirror: Men Against Fire), includes songs by John Denver, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Real Kids.
When Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and composer Ben Salisbury combine their talents for the screen, the results are usually impressive. – Consequence of Sound
Set in the peak-polyester ’70s, Free Fire takes place almost entirely in an abandoned Boston warehouse where two groups of inept, hotheaded hoods meet up for an arms deal. On the buyer’s side are Cillian Murphy and Michael Smiley as IRA rebels; on the seller’s side is Sharlto Copley’s Vern, a comically clueless South African motormouth. In the middle, trying to keep the peace (without much luck), are Armie Hammer (bearded like a classics professor) and Brie Larson (the movie’s lone dose of estrogen and common sense). – Entertainment Weekly
A24 presents FREE FIRE, available now on iTunes (get it here) and Prime Video (stream).
THE SPECTACULAR NOW [Download/Listen]
Score by Rob Simonsen.
What can we say? This James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour) classic has been the film that arguably propelled the careers of Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller and Brie Larson. With the classic score by Rob Simonsen (there are countless fan covers of his track, “Walk In The Trees”, The Spectacular Now movie is a who’s who of acting careers, not to mention an endearing coming-of-age story.
The Spectacular Now is a Sundance Award-winning film which earned a Guild of Music Supervisors Award nomination for Best Music Supervision, and in the same year, Composer Rob Simonsen was nominated Discovery of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards.
With sly humor and an intensity of feeling, THE SPECTACULAR NOW creates a vivid, three- dimensional portrait of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. This is the tale of Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), a high school senior and effortless charmer, and of how he unexpectedly falls in love with “the good girl” Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley).[IMDB]
A24 presents THE SPECTACULAR NOW, available now on Netflix, iTunes (get it here) and Prime Video (rent/buy).
