The Human Voice

Our first trailer review of the new year is a simpler one, but it shows that simplicity can be effective. It’s a minute-and-a-half in length, but no time is wasted as the music is closely cut to moments from the film to portray a very rough sketch of the plot. Due in part to its brevity and lack of dialogue, the music is arguably more critical than ever as a device both to propel the narrative and maintain audience interest.

The track used, then, is “Tributo A Cormac Mccarthy”, a 2011 release by Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias. There doesn’t appear to be an obvious intertextual reasoning behind the choice. That being said, the film is called The Human Voice, and one could argue that while, incidentally, no human voices are used in the trailer, the violin (and string ensemble) figure predominantly throughout. Thus they might figuratively stand in for the voice, since strings, after all, rank among the most voice-like instruments.

The first scene shows a woman (Tilda Swinton, as the caption wastes no time pointing out) tending to her flowers; the dyads in the violin colour the mood a bit morose. Notice how just as the melodic contour changes with a leap up a minor sixth, we see a suit laid out on the bed—one belonging to her ex-lover?—and the searching violin synchs completely with her searching, sniffing dog.

The next sequence occurs around 0:31. Longer, single tones descend as Swinton’s character appears to assuage her anxiety with a makeup routine. At 0:43, the violin picks up a gently accelerating arpeggio, matching her facial expressions as she works up to puckering her freshly adorned lips.

Things take a drastic turn as we see her laying on her side, but the unceasing violin suggests she is not about to rest. Sure enough, lower strings thunderously make their entrance as the scene cuts to a montage of sunglasses, hatchets, barking, and a shattered wine glass, the obligatory montage of visual shots. We see Swinton approaching (soundlessly), axe in hand, as the violins reach a fever pitch at 1:05, intercut with her troubled visage. Of course, we’re denied the final swing down of Swinton’s axe, and the music is given a quick fade for the director and main title cards.

Very little of the diegetic sound world makes it through in this trailer, and when it does, it’s almost more an accompaniment to the music (lips smacking, wine glass shattering, dog barking), or maybe just points of punctuation. Absent any expository dialogue, you’d be hard-pressed to surmise what the trailer is about whatsoever. However, in part as it’s coming from the international, auteur director, and in part because of Tilda Swinton’s massive recognizability and cachet, it definitely work and creates anticipation for this Swinton release (only in theaters). The element that truly bring it together, however, is the music—in this case, arguably taking the front seat in providing the narrative.

— Curtis Perry