Review: "Annie and Owen" Theme from Maniac
It’s a testament to a composer when, in a story with so much happening, the music makes you stop and take notice.
I binge-watched the entire season of Maniac in one Sunday. A lot of things from the psychological Netflix miniseries intrigued me: the rich visuals of the semi-sci-fi 1980s futuristic setting, the chemistry between the lead actors Jonah Hill (Owen) and Emma Stone (Annie), and the ways that trauma can impact how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The narrative has a satisfying depth aided by complex characters, layered storylines, and a thoughtful soundtrack by four-time Oscar-nominated composer Dan Romer.
The music bubbles with warmth and is juxtaposed against a grainy urban landscape and the cold uniformity of the pharmaceutical testing facility where most of the series takes place. The contemplative soundtrack reminds the viewer that the real setting is in the minds of Annie and Owen. The driving action is their cycle of emotions, which are extracted from them in the form of dreamlike similations induced by a drug designed to replace talk therapy.
The “Annie and Owen” theme starts with light, choppy percussion that evokes the ticking clock in the drug trial waiting room where the main characters first saw each other. The tension builds with the addition of some staccato flutes.
Then, the music opens up and the anticipation is slightly released. The plucky strings of Annie’s theme represent her playfully unpredictable nature as they skip over the ever-present ticking. Falling ribbons of strings lead into a charming melody and the tinny addition of handbells. Romer is not just trying to capture Annie’s personality, but her mind. There’s regret, loss, and sadness underneath Annie’s constant machinations and defensive sarcasm.
Annie’s mind, guarded and erratic, is the foil to Owen’s resignation to melancholy. His strings are soothing and reflective. They glide back and forth like someone holding a painful memory in their head and turning it over and over and over again.
As soon as the themes combine, the strings swell up into a rising triumph. Annie and Owen are driving off into their new story together. Are they lovers? Were they somehow cosmically destined to be together, or was it just a mechanical fluke caused by a crying supercomputer? Are they just friends? It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that they are committed to “look out for each other” just as Owen dreamed.
When the melody fades and the ticking comes back to the forefront, it reveals that it’s not just time that is moving forward, but finally, the characters too.
Photo by Mark Solarski on Unsplash
