Rage Yeilds a Powerful Score
As you prepare for the release of Creed III next Spring, a film like Rage might connect you with the roots of the original Rocky which had a far more indie approach. While there’s plenty of allure in big budget productions, there’s an inherent visceral component to films like Rage which vibrate at a similar frequency as the hungry fighters they portray. As with the original Rocky, the music that accompanies Rage is inseparable from the spirit and identity of the film. Just as similarly, it is iconic and eternally memorable. What Roberto Garza Gamez has composed for this production is pure greatness in a corporeal sonic form. He regards his contributions to Rage as one of the most intuitive processes in his career and states, “[Director] Abdulrahman Aljandal and I share a common passion for action and fighting movies. We are both into films like Rocky and Ip Man so I immediately understood his vision regarding his own film. I’ve always enjoyed these types of movies and how the music can make them feel so much more engaging and bigger than life. I was thrilled to create something that would magnify that tone of intensity of Rage.”
From the very first scene of Rage, the music and persona of the film’s main character are linked. The film opens with a man named Salem venting his anger on a punching bag. The dark tension begins with synths and electric guitar drones which then escalates through layers of percussion to establish a heavy emotional foundation. Rather than a typical action sequence, the score sets an ominous tone that makes the audience uncertain about how they will feel about Salem. This is juxtaposed against the following sequence in which the score transfers the relaxed positive energy of southern California. A beachy Big Band orchestration accompanies Salem along his drive populated by palm trees, busy city streets, and pedestrians. This instance is only one of the many times that director/writer Abdulrahman Aljandal (who also stars in Rage) has utilized Roberto’s composing skills to throw the audience off kilter. It’s unthinkable that this film would have to same emotional tone or suspenseful impact without this incredible score. Characters such as Jasser (Jassim Aljandal), Nick (Victor Canache of the Oscar nominated Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar), Louis (Shawn-Jeray Hinton of Primetime Emmy Award–winning series Veep starring Julia-Louis Dreyfus), and the aforementioned Salem are cloaked in the musical themes Garza Gamez has uniquely crafted for them, and the story is far better for it.
Throughout this film, we see that Roberto is eager to mix influences and instrumentation. From traditional orchestral stylings to hip hop, electronica, and rock; the musical personality of Rage blends the old and new. This is congruent with the filmmaker’s intention to present a social statement within the action film genre. Via the character Nick and his conflict with Salem and Jasser, we see a bigoted perspective and the need to contain it, though in a most unexpected manner. The subtle genius of Rage is that both the storyline and the musical score combine the old and new to offer ideas in a surprising manner. Roberto confirms, “The music had to be exciting and engaging to match the action of this film but the biggest challenge for me was blending all of these different styles in a smooth and natural way. It was about having a balance where all these different musical colors were mixed into a coherent sound palette. The goal was to modernize a traditional style but without losing its core identity.” It’s not an exaggeration to say that the music of Rage is its most powerful unseen cast member. During the numerous long scenes that are void of dialogue in this film, the score Roberto contributed is a companion to both the characters and the audience, creating an emotional shorthand between them. As filmmaking continues to become an international endeavor, films which rely more greatly on the unspoken and the emotional transference of a magnificent score are increasingly viable and successful. In addition to its status as an official selection at the Hollywood Gold Awards, New York Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, London Movie Awards, Paris Film Awards, Bratislava International Film Awards, and a host of others, Rage received awards from twenty-eight festivals around the world, confirming the universal recognition of it as one of the great independent films of 2019.
Writer : Calvin Hooney
