SUNDANCE '23: Composer Brian McOmber and the Power Struggle of 'Fair Play'
This piece was originally published on FilmSpeak.
Fair Play emerged from Sundance as one of the top tier films in terms of buzz. Part of the hype can be attributed to the massive $20 million sale to Netflix, but another part should (rightfully) be about the film itself. Fair Play is Chloe Domont’s feature-length directorial debut about the power dynamics of Wall Street.
Brian McOmber is responsible for the score that supports the tension-filled Fair Play. He’s no stranger to the world of indie film and had three separate projects at Sundance this year. His journey to today started with a $100 drum set his parents bought for him when he was eleven years old that he “played all the time.” Ever since then, he’s played music without a formal musical background.
Film didn’t come into the equation until college. McOmber’s friends would show him all kinds of films, but even now he doesn’t consider himself a film buff. He’s a music buff through and through. “I was just into music,” he explains. “I think I’m more of a music buff who really likes putting sounds to images…I think because I don’t have a formal music training background that I’m interested more in percussion and tambors and textures of music rather than songwriting.”
That much is evident in his Fair Play score, but also in previous work like It Comes at Night and Blow the Man Down. McOmber’s use of percussion effortlessly builds tension throughout these scores. All of these films are made or broken on their ability to sustain this tension, and Domont was adamant that McOmber use the score for Fair Play to up the anxiety.
courtesy of Sundance
McOmber’s desire to write the music for Fair Play hinged entirely on Domont. When asked what drew him to the project, his answer was immediate: “Chloe.”
“I don’t know that I would’ve done this film if it were another director,” McOmber explains. “After reading the script and just seeing how bold it was and how far she was willing to go with it, I wanted to have a conversation with her. I wanted to have a conversation with her and see how she was going to do these pretty out there ideas that she wanted to do. And how far she was willing to take it. She seemed really comfortable and really unapologetic. She had an incredibly clear vision for the film. That's what got me excited.”
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