The 10 Best Musical Movie Moments of 2019 – /FILM

Since the dawn of film, music has always been an essential component. A directors use of a particular song can become synonymous with a scene and bring an added layer of emotion. The use of music in 2019 was no exception and it was hard narrowing this list down to just ten. The movies here used music, either as needle drops or performed, to give audiences insight into the narrative or their character.

Honorable mentions: Dont Kill My Vibe from Teen Spirit, Just a Girl from Captain Marvel, Hard Times from Happy Death Day 2U, Sweet Virginia by The Rolling Stones in Knives Out

Like many films to be discussed on this list, there were numerous songs I could have borrowed from Booksmart (sorry, Alanis Morrisette!). In the end, I went with a moment that was a perfect union between the song and the emotions of the characters. Perfume Genius Slip Away comes about as Kaitlyn Deavers Amy takes the plunge (literally and metaphorically) into a swimming pool inspired by her crush Ryan (Victoria Ruesga). As Amy swims silently amongst the bodies of her peers, the songs momentum touches on her emotions. Throughout the four years of high school she, herself, has slipped away and through the cracks without anyone knowing the real her. The songs momentum perfectly dovetails with her happiness at being included and embrace who she is. Sure, the moment is ruined with the realization that Ryan is into someone else, but its a sequence of true freedom.

The numerous uses of Shake It Off arent presented as needle drops, per se, but they are a key element of this comedy involving a group of kindergartners trapped in a petting zoo during a zombie invasion. As little Felix (Diesel La Torraca) tells his uncle, Dave (Alexander England), Felixs teacher Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyongo) is known to sing Taylor Swift to her students. For Dave, this is sheer torture, as he has to hear Shake It Off on the way to the petting zoo where their field trip is so, if anything, it acknowledges how Swifts ubitiquity on the charts is annoying. But, more importantly, Taylor Swifts music becomes a symbol for what makes Miss Caroline so wonderful: shes popular, sweet, and light. You cant help but smile and start moving when Miss Caroline is around, just like you cant resist singing a little Tay-Tay in your car or at karaoke night.

This is technically two songs in one. It starts after Kitty Tyler (Elisabeth Moss) has asked her husband Josh (Tim Heidecker) to check out a strange noise. After playfully ribbing her, he asks his Ophelia, a rights-free Alexa, to play the peppy Beach Boys tune. The family, and the audience, are lulled into a false sense of security by the song, until it ramps up right as the Tylers others enter the house to wreak havoc. Poor Kitty is left crawling on the floor in her own blood as the Beach Boys excitations are all thats left. It culminates with a brief moment of levity, as Kitty asks Ophelia to call the police only to have it play NWAs Fuck the Police. Those voice-controlled speakers never get it right, do they?

For those who say Jennifer Kaytin Robinsons Someone Great last year on Netflix this was their first time hearing Lizzo. Lizzos song of women scorned works perfectly as Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) dances around her apartment, pantsless, in the wake of her boyfriend breaking up with her. Shes compelled her best friends to come spend the day with her and drunkenly breaks into performing the breakup anthem. The song works best once bestie Erin (DeWanda Wise) shows up and the two let loose. From Rodriguezs dancing with no pants to Wise immediately getting into things the minute she crosses the threshold, the performance is a wonderful moment for the woman who has just had enough.

Karaoke has the power to make someone incredibly vulnerable and remarkably romantic. Its the most authentic portrayal of the grand gesture one can have in a movie that isnt a flat-out musical. On top of being criminally underseen, Ry Russo-Youngs The Sun is Also a Star also has one of the sweetest romantic moments involving music we had in 2019. Star-crossed lovers Natasha (Yara Shahidi) and Daniel (Charles Melton) spend the day together in New York right before the former will be deported out of America. They end up at a karaoke lounge where Daniel decides to croon one of the sexiest songs in history, Crimson and Clover. As if the cameras close-ups on Meltons face as he sings arent already swoony, the movie uses the song to play out a montage as Natasha envisions the life she might have had with the man.

This was one of two movies where I was full to bursting with musical moments, but thats unsurprising considering Quentin Tarantino has made his career on the power of music. Now, I know the song I picked probably isnt what most would have done, but using Vanilla Fudges cover of You Keep Me Hanging On is just a fantastic song to encapsulate the 1960s and the sense of danger in the films climax. (Interestingly, Tarantino would use another cover of the song in Death Proof.) In this case, the films epic guitar solo is played in the lead-up to the Manson family breaking into Rick Daltons (Leonardo DiCaprio) house. The anticipation rises with the guitar chords, only for it to be dampened as the song kicks into lyrics as the family makes themselves known to Cliff Boothe (Brad Pitt). Its all downhill from there but that guitar lick appropriately sets the scene to the gruesome climax that ensues.

In 2017, Jordan Peele reminded us how creepy old music could be with Run, Rabbit in Get Out. Well, clear the way because Chuck Mangione gave us something new to make our skin crawl with his Hide and Seek song in Ready or Not. Mangiones presumably cute childrens song is the theme for the Le Domas game of hide and seek Grace (Samara Weaving) must play. The lyrics themselves are utterly terrifying: Anywhere youve fled / Im going to find you.Dont you make a noise / Or I am going to find you. By the time the song plays again at the films climax, hearing the spoken word Who wants to play a game? Its time to play hide and seek has told us all we need to know about whats going to happen to these characters.

Lorene Scafaria made my job 1,000 times harder because I could have picked ten songs from Hustlers alone. My apologies to Fiona Apples Criminal, but not only is Britney Spears 2007 comeback song Gimme More a fantastic way to anchor time and place, it showcases the sheer amount of excess that isnt discussed in pre-recession movies. As the iconic line, Its Britney, bitch kicks in we watch Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) and Destiny (Constance Wu) buy an expensive car. The song plays as Wall Street guys make million-dollar deals, meanwhile the other women in the strip club are demanding what they want, whether thats more time money or their boyfriend to calm down. The song also takes an added air of interest considering the song came as Spears was in the grips of a debilitating mental breakdown, making its inclusion indicative of the fallout the characters will soon feel.

Like Tarantino, Martin Scorsese is the king of needle drops. Nearly every one of his movies has a rollicking soundtrack that you could listen to alone and get a perfect feel for the era hes focused on. The Irishman is surprisingly muted in that there arent any specific needle-drops short of one, The Five Satins In the Still of the Night. Its a quiet, melodic song of melancholy and nostalgia that evokes Frank Sheerhans (Robert de Niro) memories of the past and his time with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Like the song, Frank is remembering his own metaphorical night in May where anything seemed possible. In the Still of the Night is a love song and you could easily say its used to show the respectful admiration and, yes, platonic love the two men share. It conveys everything Frank cant tell Hoffa directly.

This final one might be a cheat as its actually the films end credits song, but I cant imagine a film as wild and chaotic as Uncut Gems playing with anything else. This 2000-era dance song has such a dreamy, hazy feel not unlike the beautiful opal that captivates everyone in the film. When the dust has settled on Howards (Adam Sandler) series of actions what better way to underscore, and maybe undercut, all that than with a bouncy song you can dance to?

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The 10 Best Musical Movie Moments of 2019 - /FILM

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero