Black Gold in Camden Town
The Satisfaction I felt in finally seeing the long ago promised blood seeping from Paul Dano‘s head after it was bashed in by Daniel Day Lewis with a bowling pin was nothing in comparison to hearing the brilliantly unsettling score of the film played live in front of me.
This past week the world premier live screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel There will be Blood was shown at the Roundhouse in Camden. Not only was the original music composed by none other than Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead but he was there on the Ondes Martenot along with the London Contemporary Orchestra, led by Hugh Brunt, to give a packed house the chance to experience something incredibly special.
At times I found myself forgetting that the orchestra was even there. As I settled in to watch the film, I tried my best to block out the support beam that the Victorian architects used to hold up the roof, long before anyone thought to turn the place into a performing arts venue.
There’s a lot to be said about the soundtrack for this film. It’s the perfect example of a musical score used to turn a seemingly simple and un-remarkable shot of a car driving down a dusty street or a range of hills against a blue sky into an intense and eerie experience. I noticed this from watching the film on previous occasions but to hear the scratch of horse hair on strings suited for a horror movie in the opening scene, devoid of spoken word was a chilling experience. I wasn’t sure whether or not to observe the orchestra and study which instruments were used for which part or to just sit back and enjoy the film.
It was also interesting to see Jonny Greenwood outside of his traditional role as rock guitarist. He blended into the orchestra, into the middle somewhere and all dressed in black. One could hardly have guessed where he was on stage until he took a bow at the end, much less that the music they were playing was his.
There are a number of fantastic gigs going on at the Roundhouse this summer. Also, Camden beach just near by is the perfect place to have a few cocktails in the sand before enjoying a show at this historic venue. Be sure to check out the Roundhouse website for upcoming events.
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