‘Joker’ composer Hildur Guonadottir would defy Oscar history by dancing away with nomination
Joaquin Phoenix has swallowed up most of the attention for “Joker,” but another aspect of the Warner Bros. film has managed to impress moviegoers: the original score. Composer Hildur Guonadottir was honored with the Best Soundtrack award at the Venice Film Festival for her work on “Joker,” and now she is in the hunt to score her first Oscar nomination.
Should “Joker” earn that original score bid, it would be only the seventh comic book film to do so in Oscar history, following “The Mask of Zorro” (1940), “Superman” (1978), “Dick Tracy” (1990), “Men in Black” (1997), “The Adventures of Tintin” (2011) and last year’s winner “Black Panther.” It would be the first nomination in this category for a film based on characters in the Batman universe, with even “The Dark Knight” failing to score a bid in 2008. This would suggest a bias against such films, so “Joker” would seemingly be at a disadvantage. But “Joker” is a different spin on a concept typically reserved for younger audiences — a violent psychological drama looking into the mind of a damaged human being, with no capes or superpowers in sight.
Guonadottir’s score reflects that serious tone, brooding with intensity as a cello melodically draws you into Arthur Fleck’s (Phoenix) twisted psyche, accompanied by screeching strings and pounding drums. The dramatic score is haunting and evocative as it is used throughout the film, never more clearly than when Arthur locks himself in the bathroom, dancing gracefully after committing a brutal act of violence.
As Guonadottir revealed in her interview with Gold Derby, her music was played on set as a means of getting Phoenix in character, particularly in that bathroom scene. “What we see in the movie is him responding in real time to the music, and that’s the turning point of Arthur becoming Joker,” she said. The score also features heavily in the final sequences of the film, where Arthur’s full transformation into the Joker is complete.
A nomination for Guonadottir would also be a rare instance of a female composer nominated in Best Original Score. Only six women have been honored with a bid in any score category before: Angela Morley (“The Little Prince” in 1974, “The Slipper and the Rose” in 1977), Marilyn Bergman (“Yentl” in 1983), Rachel Portman (“Emma” in 1996, “The Cider House Rules” in 1999, “Chocolat” in 2000), Anne Dudley (“The Full Monty” in 1997), Lynn Ahrens (“Anastasia” in 1997) and Mica Levi (“Jackie” in 2016).
Guonadottir earned hardware just a few months ago at the Emmys, winning the award for Best Limited Series/Movie Music Composition for the HBO miniseries “Chernobyl.” Can her streak continue with the upcoming 2020 Academy Awards?
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