‘Música’ | Anatomy of a Scene
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Watch an Elaborate One-Shot Montage in ‘Música’
Rudy Mancuso, the film’s director, composer, co-writer and star, narrates this sequence, which plays out in real time with movable sets.In “Anatomy of a Scene,” we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays. You can also watch our collection of more than 150 videos on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel.What’s the best way to narratively portray a life that has become nearly impossible to manage? How about with a one-take montage sequence that seems nearly impossible to pull off?That’s what Rudy Mancuso goes for in his debut feature, “Música” (streaming on Amazon Prime Video), which he directed, composed, co-wrote (with Dan Lagana) and stars in.The character he plays, Rudy, has been dividing his attention between the three closest women in his life: his girlfriend, Haley (Francesca Reale), with whom he’s hit difficult times; his mother, Maria (Maria Mancuso), and a new woman he is getting to know, Isabella (Camila Mendes). He’s lying to all three. “On the page, it was actually called the ‘Rhythm of Lies,’” Mancuso said in his narration.The scene is shot on a warehouse stage, with sets flying in and out to represent the different encounters Rudy has with these women. He moves from setup to setup, changing his clothes along the way, with lighting cues syncopated to the music. (Watch for that moment where Rudy starts a kiss with one woman, freezes in place and finishes the kiss with another woman.)Mancuso said that he and his crew needed half a day of rehearsal and a half a day of shooting 14 takes to pull it all off along.“This would not have been possible without the hard work of my production designer, Patrick Sullivan, and my amazing DP, Shane Hurlbut,” he said.Read the “Música” review.Sign up for the Movies Update newsletter and get a roundup of reviews, news, Critics’ Picks and more. More
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‘Música’ Review: Rudy Mancuso’s Debut Feature
Rudy Mancuso stars in and directs an inventive debut feature about a man with synesthesia who tries to manage his complicated life and relationships.The artist Rudy Mancuso has a prolific career that’s hard to define. He sings, shoots puppet skits and films wistful live action shorts set to his own piano tunes. Mancuso uploads most of his output online; however, he opened for Justin Bieber in Brazil, where he once lived. “Música,” Mancuso’s phenomenal feature debut, is a comic trip inside a mind that’s forever feverishly creating — even against his will. In the first scene, Rudy (Mancuso), his semi-autobiographical lead, gets dumped at a diner because his synesthesia won’t allow him to focus on a serious talk about the future. His brain can’t ignore a knife chopping, a broom sweeping, a spatula clanking. The percussion swells, the clatter harmonizes and his romance collapses, leaving Rudy alone in his bedroom with a lamp attached to — oh dear — a Clapper.Mancuso crams all of his passions into the movie, including the puppets (which, with his cartoonish coif, he resembles). He’s playing a character who is occasionally too passive. Yet, he’s made a film that’s confidently, intentionally overwhelming. In Newark, where the movie is set, there’s always life, noise, inspiration banging away in the background. Rudy can’t control his distractions, but he can conduct the cacophony. An interlude involving a boisterous park of people playing checkers, basketball and double Dutch lets him do just that.As balance, the script, written by Mancuso and Dan Lagana, is a tidy coming-of-age tale. Rudy bounces between the needs of three women: his college girlfriend, Haley (Francesca Reale), a charismatic fishmonger named Isabella (Camila Mendes) and his bossy Brazilian mother, Maria (played by his real mother, Maria Mancuso), who turns their living room into a singles bar for potential daughters-in-law. (She serves caipirinhas with paper umbrellas.) Occasionally, Rudy ventures out for advice from a shawarma truck operator (J.B. Smoove), who, when drunk, acts like a trickster sprite.Mancuso, 32, is part of a digital generation that treated the internet like a self-taught film school. Eyeballs were his pass/fail grade. A low-budget, high-imagination director, he’s learned to delight viewers with practical effects and sharp physical timing, citing Charlie Chaplin as his inspiration. (Come to think of it, they have the same hair, too.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
