‘Nickel Boys’ composers Alex Somers and Scott Alario on their ‘experiential’ score that complements the film’s first-person point-of-view

“We leaned into the patient, durational, and very beautiful camera work of this movie and paired it with music that was slow and textural, and we thought it was a natural way to approach it” declares “Nickel Boys” co-composer Alex Somers about creating an “experiential” score for a film in which the audience is completely immersed in the first-person point-of-view of the two main protagonists. For our recent webchat Somers’ collaborator Scott Alario adds, “we get really into it when we’re making music together and we’re kind of lost in it, and I think we’re transported to another place.” Watch our video interview above.

SEE 2025 Oscar contenders: Watch all of our video interviews

More from GoldDerby

• Lee Brice and Dallas Davidson's titular original song 'The Neon Highway' is the 'heart and soul' of the country music drama

• Gold Derby Oscar predictions 2025: 'Wicked' flies into visual effects top five [Updated Nov. 18]

• 15th Governors Awards red carpet photos: See Hollywood's biggest stars arrive at honorary Oscars ceremony

“Nickel Boys” is directed by Oscar nominee RaMell Ross and written by Ross Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Joslyn Barnes, and stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Tony winner Daveed Diggs and Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2019 novel by Colson Whitehead and inspired by real-life events, the drama chronicles the powerful friendship between two Black teenagers who become wards of a juvenile reformatory in Florida.

“When we read the script, it talks about this point-of-view thing,” Somers says. “Scott and I were lucky enough to visit the set in New Orleans where they were filming and get a little taste for it, but we didn’t exactly realize what that would look like until we saw the film because it’s hard to read it on the page and understand because there’s so many different ways RaMell and the team could have done point-of-view,” he explains. “Once we saw it, I think it encouraged us to lean into the slow, durational music. It didn’t need to say a lot in a short period of time. We felt that it could unfold more slowly and just be a little more ambient and dreamy, based on the kind of experiential nature of the way the film is shot. It’s a little more like you’re living in it, and when you move through your own life and you hear the world, things don’t necessarily have to make sense in a literal way, and that felt cool to us.”

Best of GoldDerby

• Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor on unintentionally channeling her own grandmother in 'Nickel Boys': 'She was a woman who went through hell'

• Meet the Experts Film Score and Song panel: ‘The Neon Highway,’ ‘Nickel Boys,’ ‘Sasquatch Sunset,’ ‘Will and Harper’

• 'Will and Harper' songwriter Sean Douglas says the 'resounding message' of 'Harper and Will Go West' is about love and friendship

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.