By JESSICA NEU
There was a buzz in the air at Heinz Hall last night before the Pittsburgh Symphony took the stage to perform along to the 2003 British Comedy Love Actually on December 19th. Conductor Jacob Joyce assumed his spot center stage and brought the symphony in as they began to play Craig Armstrong’s score.
Love Actually looks at love around the holiday season from the lens of ten different storylines involving a variety ofindividuals, some of whom intertwine in their lives. Starring such prominent actors as Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Kiera Knightly, Billy Bob Thorton, Emma Thompson, and Colin Firth, eight of the ten storylines involve couples who all navigate love a bit differently based on who they are (e.g., Hugh Grant is the Prime Minister of England) and where they are in life, and what they hope to obtain through a relationship.
The film begins with the song “Christmas Is All Around.” The song is a Christmas version of an old hit, “Love Is All Around,” from now washed-up, crass pop-rock singer Billy Mack who is looking to score his first number-one hit in decades. Hearing “Christmas Is All Around,” made famous from the film’s original soundtrack, performed live by the PSO, was enough of an early Christmas gift. However, the performance was, of course, just getting started.
The PSO is no stranger to performing film scores live in concert. Well-loved PSO concerts to films such as the Harry Potter or Star Wars series contain a robust score, but Love Actually contains predominantly Top-40 songs that accentuate its scenes. This difference provided a unique symphonic experience as the musicians highlighted not only the orchestral aspects of the film but also the vocal performances in Top-40 songs, including the Bay City Roller’s “Bye, Bye Baby,” The Beatle’s “All You Need Is Love,” and the Pointer Sisters’ “Jump (For My Love)” among others. The PSO shines as they augment the arrangement to each of these songs, bringing new space and breath into each number, almost making each song three-dimensional.
Given all of the different storylines and characters in Love Actually, it is easy to get lost in the minutiae of each plot and either lose focus or subconsciously allow storylines to blur together. Seeing the film live with PSO is the perfect remedy to this cognitive dissonance. The orchestra comes in at the ideal moment in various scenes to draw forth your attention to parts of the film you may have otherwise missed or forgotten. The PSO punctuates moments of joy, grief, confusion, and unrequited love, which gives each storyline added depth and heightens the emotional appeal for audience members.
As Alan Rickman tries to quickly purchase a Christmas gift for his lover without his wife seeing him, and as Hugh Grant rushes through the streets of London going door to door to find his true love, Natalie, the orchestra adds anticipation, excitement, and emotion to each scene causing suspense in the audience, even if they know the outcome of the story.
Billy Bob Thorton, the President of the United States, arrives to meet with Hugh Grant, the Prime Minister, and the orchestra swells with the “Star-Spangled Banner” to usher in Thorton’s arrival. These moments showcase the symphony’s greatness, as such a well-known song, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” comes to life in a moment that would often be overlooked in the film.
In one scene in the film, Alan Rickman cannot believe that his wife (Emma Thompson) still listens to Joni Mitchell. He gifts her a Joni CD, which is ironically how she discovers that he is having an affair. Thompson’s character goes into her bedroom and tearfully mourns the recent realization while listening to Mitchell’s classic “Both Sides Now.” I still listen to Joni Mitchell, so this scene always resonates with me, but the PSO added a new dynamic to the emotionally palpable scene.
This performance resonated with how the PSO used music to unite. Colin Firth rents a home on the coast to focus on his writing, but his bungalow comes with a housekeeper played by Lucia Moniz. The catch is that Moniz’s character is from Portugal and does not speak English, while Firth’s character hails from England and does not speak Portuguese. The orchestra beautifully plays as they attempt to talk to one another but cannot understand what the other says, proving that music truly is a universal language. The PSO fills the space between the two characters and provides the communal link necessary for them to understand each other as their love grows. It is in these moments that Christmas is truly all around.
Whether you favor Joni Mitchell, classic rock, or traditional symphonic arrangements, the PSO repeatedly proves that music transcends countries, languages, beliefs, and cultures to remind us that love is the holiday spirit that unites us all.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews
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