Conclusion

It might be a strange thing to admit in the concluding pages of a book that argues for recognizing the musical potential of film, but my idea to explore film musicality initially came from my increasing awareness of the musicality of contemporary theatre, particularly Complicite productions directed by Simon McBurney which are governed by a perpetual fluidity affecting actors, props and all contributing media. It was interesting, then, that when I was preparing to write the last chapter of this book a film appeared — Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina — which convincingly and virtuosically integrates the practice of musicalized theatre in the medium of film. However, it is not only the last case study of this book that illustrates the importance of cross-fertilization. The other two case studies and many other films discussed in this book suggest that exposing film to influences from other arts and media — be that hip hop, poetry, techno music or the abstract idea of musicality — opens up a space for innovation and the creation of new modes of perception that transcend familiar experiences of art consumption. Hip hop editing, audio-visual musique concrète, examples of rhythmicized form, musicalized speech and various other stylistic choices and devices are all created by combining influences from different arts and popular culture and they all promote boundary-busting qualities typical of art hybridity and intermedia relationships.