Rhythm and Film

Getting that rhythm in your film is like finding that beat in a song, the one that makes you want to move...I often write to music as I am right now, listening to Drugs in My body by Thieves Like Us. Although, for some reason this song is particularly distracting to me, maybe because I'm swaying from side to side as I type. When I was revising LTLM with the Gypsy, I would often request that music be played. The Gypsy would of course complain, because as I mentioned before, she likes to break into song sometimes while we work, and that would be difficult to do if there were a song already being played. Got it down to a science!

But back to the rhythm, as I am able to focus a little more, due to a new song being played, Kilogramm by Bodi Bill. Rhythm in the script, among the actors and within the picture is a hard goal to achieve all at once but its possible...When I did a staged performance with my actors of LTLM and we were preparing, I would often reference certain films to demonstrate to them the importance of finding a rhythm within their ensemble. The two films I would often recommend were The Boss of it All, and Nothing But a Man....

Strangely enough, the Boss of it All is completely without a soundtrack, although the film itself, the cast and their performance is so incredibly lyrical. Its almost as if the actors in this film are not only on the same wavelength but have seemingly studied each other so intensely that they perform as if they're con artist sprinkling their trickery on prey, using an effective formula of imitating or reenacting particular human nature but only with the intent of controlling the oncoming reaction.

As I think a little further into this; the film, Boss of it All, is about passive aggression and manipulation, so the performance of the actors now makes more sense. Although, I believe the rhythm in the Boss of it All, perhaps had a lot to do with the rhythm in the script, as well as the rhythm of the director himself, Lars von Trier. Everyone in this film seems to be very in tune with the other, kind of like performance art, actually a rhythm between actors, or you may say artist, produces what most would confidently identify as performance art...



In Nothing But a Man, I noticed that the rhythm between the actors fell directly into the raw human chemistry... The first time I ever really understood the chemistry between individuals was when I saw the performance between Abbey Lincoln and Ivan Dixon, where they were sweating desperation, love, and disappoint all under the bright southern sun, without even saying a word, but standing there in front of the other, painfully pleading with their eyes....Somehow these brilliant filmmakers, Michael Roemer and Robert Young, were able to translate from the page to the screen, to my thoughts, and in my words as I tried to explain the importance of rhythm to my actors. Although in this particular film, I did notice the music playing along side with the picture.

The music of Nothing but a Man would not only help to create the rhythm projected between the actors, and the motion picture, but also mark a moment in history, and in time with chorus lines that would remain in our hearts and in our minds for generations to come. The legacy of Nothing but a Man further demonstrates the importance of how the rhythm in a film can reflect the rhythm in life....

Track listing of Nothing But a Man, original soundtrack released by Motown Records in 1964:

1. Heat Wave, (Love Is Like A) - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, 2. Fingertips (Pt. II) - Little Stevie Wonder, 3. That's The Way I Feel - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 4. Come On Home - Holland & Dozier, 5. This Is When I Need You Most - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, 6. I'll Try Something New - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 7. Way Over There - The Marvelettes, 8. Mickey's Monkey - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 9. You Beat Me to the Punch - Mary Wells, 10. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (live), 11. Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells