Watch Josh O’Connor Gently Neg Paul Mescal in The History of Sound
Red alert: Josh O’Connor’s overpronounced H in the surname White — that’s wuh-HITE, to be clear — in a new clip from The History Of Sound is the first sign that we’re all going to be in trouble once this thing hits theaters. Oliver Hermanus’s yearning period romance premiered in competition at Cannes this year and will make its North American premiere at Telluride in a couple of weeks. Mubi will be releasing the film in theaters on September 12, so thankfully we don’t have to wait much longer. Based on a story by the writer Ben Shattuck, Jenny Slate’s husband, The History of Sound tells the story of longtime friends and lovers in the early 20th century who share a passion for American folk music.
In the scene, O’Connor’s David White (wuh-HITE) and Paul Mescal’s Lionel Worthing meet over a piano in a smoky bar. The two have a shared passion for music with the former teaching composition and the latter teaching voice. “I didn’t think people around here knew songs like that,” Worthing tells White. “They don’t,” White admits, adding, “this is a hobby in the summers: collecting tunes, ballads, and songs.” Worthing tests White’s knowledge of folk music before he finally stumps him with a song called “Silver Dagger.” Despite Worthing’s whole “I’m shy” routine, White baits him into singing the song for all the other guys in the bar in a moment of flirtatious negging. There’s nothing O’Connor seems to like more in movies than to be a force of chaotic courtship, and he watches Mescal sing the song with almost literal heart eyes. The moment is understated and wholly romantic — a meeting, if not a harmony, of hearts and minds.
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