MUSICAL REALISM

Damien Chazelle’s directorial debut has been described as a “mumblecore” musical but it differs sharply from other mumblecore pictures. Damien Chazelle’s Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is a new kind of musical. The film is not burdened by Andrew Bujalski’s (Funny Ha Ha, Beeswax) chatterboxes. In fact there is very little in the way of dialogue. The primary communicative device in the film is music. There are choreographed music sections of the film but even the scenes between musical numbers have a certain rhythmic quality. Chazelle’s cinematography captures Boston and a small subculture of jazz enthusiasts with a musical quality that pervades the entire picture.

Chazelle’s characters are intimately connected to their setting. He follows characters walking through the city, up and down staircases and into buildings. We view them up-close. Not only are these characters impossible in a different setting, their setting is impossible without them. The characters walk through a Boston infused with rhythm. It is a city transformed by their presence and they too are transformed by it. One scene opens on a hip party with twenty-somethings sipping cocktails and talking underneath a jovial tune from Guy’s band. Chazelle focuses on a single conversation that imperceptibly slips into a song with choreographed yet spontaneous tap-dancing. The room looks like an apartment but feels like a club. The performers transform the setting as the close-set walls of the apartment lend a kinetic energy to the musical performance. Chazelle keeps the camera close to the performers; changing shots from one side of the room to the other in time with the music.

Scenes without musical numbers also share the rhythmic quality of the choreographed scenes. When Guy meets his new fling Elena, we see the two sharing an intimate moment to the rhythm of the subway. The scene is remarkable. It is bereft of dialogue and the camera cuts from Elena to Guy and only places them in the same frame when they touch. The scene is natural in a way seldom seen in film. This is not the usual beautiful people coalescing like amoebas in a celluloid void. They are in an actual space forced together by the crowded train and its rhythmic roll along the track. This seamless integration of character and setting remains for the entire film.

Chazelle’s characters have a depth that belies any withheld narrative information. He does not encourage us to contemplate what that missing information might be but renders it unimportant. We easily understand the complexities of Guy’s relationships without the simple declarations that characterize lesser films. Guy’s relationship with Madeline brackets the film and illustrates Chazelle’s innovative approach. The film opens with Guy and Madeline sitting in silence. Guy walks away. The scene is simple and understood. We learn through the course of the film why it is that Guy and Madeline split without overt explanation. Through the course of the film Chazelle shows us that Guy only loves his trumpet. When Guy realizes he made a mistake leaving Madeline he attempts to win her back by playing her a song. His trumpet says more than words.
The integration of characters and setting is what sets this film apart from previous “mumblecore” efforts. Chazelle accomplishes this by uniting both characters and setting through music. The musical form is never distracting but an integral part of the story. In other words this film only makes sense as a musical. It is through music that we watch the people and setting transform. Unlike previous mumblecore offerings, Guy and Madeline actually accomplishes one of the tasks of realist cinema without boring us. The film shows us the daily lives of this Boston jazz subculture in a complex and thorough manner. The film does not leave us scratching our heads. It is entirely satisfying because it limits its scope. Instead of contrived complicated sets, Chazelle seems to improvise. He does not force his vision on the setting but uses it to tell his story.

Chazelle is clearly a talented filmmaker. His film breathes new life into the musical. Do not expect any hit songs from the soundtrack. Chazelle does not limit his film to such easy clichés. He attempts to tell a story in the way that a song tells a story. His film is an example of new kind of realist cinema. Chazelle is not afraid to choreograph scenes. He does not risk the banality of chatterboxes in order to make the film seem more real. The film never stops moving so that we can listen to dwindling conversation. One works hard for small rewards and this film is no exception.

As part of the Cinema Arts Festival Houston, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench will be playing at the Angelika Film Center Houston on 11/13 (6:45 pm) & 11/15 (9:45 pm).