“Killers of the Flower Moon” by Robbie Robertson
An arresting film score from the late Robbie Robertson.
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Today’s music pick is one of the best film scores in recent memory from the late Robbie Robertson.
Genre: Classical, Blues Rock
Label: Sony
Release Date: October 20, 2023
Vibe: 🤩
Across its three-and-a-half-hour running time, Killers of the Flower Moon gets its pulse from Robbie Robertson’s incredible score. It deftly blends vulnerability and malevolence to envelope the on-screen action with a weary pathos so lived in that I wasn’t prepared for how effective it would be. The film is about evil hiding in plain sight, how greed and colonialism have shaped every fiber of American history, weighty themes you wouldn’t expect a film score to encapsulate. Yet, somehow, Robertson pulls it off.
It was the multi-hyphenate’s last completed work before his death in 2023 and one that, by all accounts, he had great expectations for. “[He was] terrified of delivering something ordinary,” explained his collaborator Mark Graham. “Robbie would always say, ‘It can’t be movie music,’” added his former manager, Jared Levine. “Marty [Scorsese] doesn’t want it to comment on what he’s doing. It has to somehow fit and illuminate something in his film without it being used as a tool to make you feel something or think something is going to happen.” A daunting task, to be sure, but greatness typically makes it look easy.
Cues like “Osage Oil Boom” and “Heartbeat / Ni-U-Kon-Ska” imbue the rural Oklahoma landscape with the notion that what lurks beneath the soil isn’t black gold but something more sinister. The thumping bass and steely guitar work come together to form a distinctive identity, becoming an identifiable character throughout Robertson’s compositions. There are some tender moments here and there, like “The Wedding,” but the score’s default position is a creeping sense of dread that can be both unsettling and inviting. A track like “Reign of Blood,” which lulls you into a false sense of security before plunging into darkness, may as well be Exhibit A for Robertson’s ability to wring high drama out of rugged soundscapes.
Don’t miss this incredible swan song.
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RIP Robbie.