Eileen is the original motion picture soundtrack to the 2023 film of the same name directed by William Oldroyd, starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie. The film's score is composed by Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry that consisted of 18 tracks and an original song written specifically for the film. Milan Records released the soundtrack on December 1, 2023.
| Eileen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Film score by | ||||
| Released | December 1, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2023 | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 56:58 | |||
| Label | Milan | |||
| Producer | Richard Reed Parry | |||
| Richard Reed Parry chronology | ||||
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Development
editEileen is Parry's second composition for a feature film after The Nest (2020). Oldroyd being a fan of Arcade Fire's works, watched the film and eventually liked Parry's work, who thought that the music was exquisite. After the film's production, Oldroyd sent Parry an assembled edit that consisted of the last ten minutes of the film, without dialogues, and insisted him to score in its entirety.[1] He eventually liked it and wrote few cues. Oldroyd gave him freedom on writing specific music but also wanted to keep the spirit of the 1960s, adding that "He [Parry] played with the themes and the tone of the film, which treads a fine line between humour and darkness."[2] The score for Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver (1976) served as the reference point for the film's music.[3]
Reception
editAnna Bogutskaya of Time Out described the soundtrack as "spectacularly jarring",[4] while David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "wonderfully arch".[5] Jessica Kiang of Variety wrote "Richard Reed Parry’s superb jazz score, manages to be both sultry and impatient as it moves from discordant passages to sweetly tuneful resolves".[6] Amber Wilkinson of Screen International wrote "Richard Reed Parry’s jazz-inflected score adds to the increasingly noir vibe."[7] Shayna Maci Warner of Paste wrote "Richard Reed Parry’s score cracks and swings like the tenuous icicles that decorate Eileen’s front door."[8] Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire wrote "Richard Reed Parry’s score, mixing jazz with more shivery ominous orchestral arrangements, amply abets the movie’s toxic pull."[9] Kevin Ibbotson-Wight of The Wee Review wrote "Scored with a serpentine jazzy swing by Richard Reed Parry that sweeps from heady romantic longing through to insistent, threatening noirish throb it nods back to old Hollywood glamour and Hitchcockian thrills."[10] Jordan Raup of The Film Stage wrote "Richard Reed Parry’s jazzy score amps up like a crutch to hit the finish line, one that comes across unfinished and unsatisfying."[11]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eileen" | 0:33 |
| 2. | "Prison Guard Fantasy" | 1:14 |
| 3. | "Driving Home" | 1:32 |
| 4. | "Shoes in Trunk" | 1:26 |
| 5. | "Eyes Meet" | 1:14 |
| 6. | "Dad is Drunk on the Street" | 5:08 |
| 7. | "Photos in the Office" | 1:46 |
| 8. | "They Kiss" | 1:30 |
| 9. | "Hungover and Late" | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Prison Visit" | 2:12 |
| 11. | "Office Car Fantasy" | 2:48 |
| 12. | "Hospital" | 1:33 |
| 13. | "Hushed" | 3:03 |
| 14. | "Pivotal Moment" | 5:56 |
| 15. | "Basement Confession" | 2:57 |
| 16. | "Basement to House" | 5:59 |
| 17. | "Fake Escape" | 1:31 |
| 18. | "Leaving" | 9:47 |
| 19. | "All These Things" (Art Neville) | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 56:58 | |
References
edit- ^ "Q&A with William Oldroyd". Le Cinéma Club. June 12, 2023. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Dalton, Ben (January 21, 2023). "'Lady Macbeth' director William Oldroyd talks Sundance title Eileen: "I love provocation in cinema"". Screen. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Richard Reed Parry [@ParryReed] (January 6, 2024). "The only specific music I used as a reference/jumping off point when I was composing for Eileen was B. Herrmann's Taxi Driver score so receiving praise from the man who wrote that script makes my head spin. 💓💓🙏🙏🙏" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Bogutskaya, Anna (January 26, 2023). "Sundance review: Anne Hathaway is a tornado in an otherwise undone Eileen". Time Out. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Rooney, David (January 22, 2023). "'Eileen' Review: Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie Burn Up the Screen in Supremely Stylish Psychological Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Kiang, Jessica (January 22, 2023). "'Eileen' Review: Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie Excel in a Wildly Audacious, Wondrously Twisted Period Psychodrama". Variety. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Wilkinson, Amber (January 22, 2023). "'Eileen': Sundance Review". Screen. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Maci Warner, Shayna (November 29, 2023). "Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie Turn in a Truly Nasty Piece of Work with Eileen". Paste. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (January 22, 2023). "'Eileen' Review: Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie Are Career-Best in a Perverse Folie à Deux". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Ibbotson-Wight, Kevin (January 25, 2023). "Eileen". The Wee Review. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Raup, Jordan (January 23, 2023). "Sundance Review: Eileen is an Unpolished Mix of Sensual Longing and Perverse Thrills". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2024.