There are so many movies that burst onto streaming services week after week, and then quickly fade into the ether. With such an overwhelming amount of content, it’s often hard to decide what to choose to invest your time into. It’s a great problem to have in some ways, but a troublesome one in others. The fear of missing out – “FOMO”, as the cool kids will say – is a real problem. If you have Prime Video and don’t watch Música, well…you’re missing out on something pretty special.
Rudy Mancuso wrote, directs, and stars in this film, and brings an incredible energy and visual style to it. He plays a character of the same name; a twenty-something desperately trying to figure out what to do with his life. He is struggling to balance his passions, his love life, his family, and Brazilian culture while living in Newark, New Jersey. His mother (Maria Mancuso), his ex-girlfriend Haley (Francesca Reale), and his new love interest Isabella (Camila Mendes) create a triangle of choices that Rudy is struggling to navigate. What makes it all the more difficult is the music that seems to come from the world around him that he can’t get out of his head.
There is a musical element to this film, but don’t let that be the reason you skip it. It’s not a traditional musical by any means. The film plays with the idea of diegetic sound – something it references at one point in the film – as Rudy hears music in the world. That’s not to say the film doesn’t break out into musical numbers, but many are in his head. The performances resemble STOMP in a lot of ways, as the music is made from day-to-day things.
In one of the best moments of the romantic comedy aspect of this movie, Rudy tries to explain to Isabella what he sees and hears in his head. He sits next to her on a park bench and slowly isolates sounds. The film does this for us, so we can truly witness it. A basketball creates the rhythm that leads to the symphony of the playground. It’s an inspiring piece, both in the filmmaking of it, and the insight into the mind of a musician.
Rudy has watched a lot of movies. One stressful scene at a Brazilian restaurant reminds of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love, with the sound design being a major component of the anxiety the scene creates in the audience so we can fully get what Rudy is going through. It is similar to that moment when Adam Sandler’s character is about to have a breakdown, and the sound design ratchets up the tension.
Rudy is also very into puppets, and crafting a story with them and music. Fans of the Jason Segel film Forgetting Sarah Marshall will see elements of that Rom-Com in these moments. They never quite reach the heights of the Dracula musical from that film, but they are still quite a bit of fun.
Música isn’t quite a masterpiece, but it’s an extremely innovative first feature film. It’s a great example of how to play in the genre delivering the familiar, but pushing the artistic elements to new heights. Rom-Coms are often blandly shot and choose to simply focus on the comedy and the romance. Rudy demonstrates that you can have humor and love with unique visuals, interesting editing, and catchy musical numbers.
Música is on Prime Streaming right now and deserves to be seen.
Rating: Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy.
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