Music

Tracks I used (in order of appearance):
“In a Sentimental Mood” by Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
“Prowler” by Bohren & der Club of Gore
“Midnight Walker” by Bohren & der Club of Gore
“Angel” by Massive Attack

I really enjoyed using these tracks (though trying to find pieces of music that suited was stressful at times). I chose to use "In a Setimental Mood" because it blended with the narration very well. It gives a sort of self-reflective mood with the words spoken and I think it set the scene well. At that point, nothing had happened on-screen, and so it wasn't meant to be dark or agressive in any way. The Saxophone was something I wanted to incorporate as much of as I could - it fits the genre really well, giving a detective-in-the-night vibe.

"Prowler" was used to highlight the sexual tension between Maria and Jonesy, but it also has a moodiness to it - the rhythm is slow, downbeat, and the low strings suggest a more solemn atmosphere than the piano and saxophone give off. The saxophone here is meant to be playful and romantic. The piano is very bright, innocent, which I think is great for Maria's character, since we haven't seen her darker side as of yet.

"Midnight Walker" was meant to be overwhelmingly bleak (and the song is seven minutes of bleak, solemn, moody 'space'). This piece again uses the saxophone, but in conjunction with the organ in the background, is rather depressing. No playfulness here. This is where Bill's partner has been killed, where everything is about to go wrong, and I wanted to capture some of that on the ambient side, hence this choice in music.

"Angel" is the climax of the opening. I needed something that fitted the fast pace of Ed's/Bill's escape, but also something that would work well with the slow-motion shots that present the falling action at the end. The chime-like sound of the guitar in this was something I thought fitted these contrasting speeds well. The lyrics heard in the ending are "Neutralise every man inside" and "I love you" - this links back to Maria's dangerous character, and Bill's feelings toward her. This is the one piece that does not feature a saxophone, and also the only one that featured a fast tempo with contemporary instruments, such as the electric guitar and bass. While this would not have been seen in 1940s film noir, I believe it is something that can be applied nowadays. The original style of film noir was merely the style of the time, after all. There were a number of inconsistancies surrounding the time setting of this opening, and so I present that this is alternate 2000s - where everything is roughly where it is today, but with the styles and trends of the 1940s. Examples of this are the police siren, the architecture of the house, style of streetlight, the telephone, and the fridge/freezer in the kitchen  verses the gang members in suits, and currency inflation being nonexistant ($10,000 being a fortune).