When writer Charlie Mackesy was looking for someone to compose the music for the adaptation of his beloved 2019 book “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” he thought of Isobel Waller-Bridge.
The story of four characters who are lost and in need of connection is about vulnerability, and for Waller-Bridge and Mackesy, the idea of needing connection was best conveyed through a musical palette using the piano and a cello. .
Here, Waller-Bridge discusses navigating the score and the most important musical landmarks.
What was your introduction to the book and what did Calling Charlie mean to you?
My brother gave me the book for Christmas 2019. I remember opening it and seeing those beautiful illustrations and poetic words, and I fell in love with it. When Charlie asked me to write the music for the film, it was an incredibly profound thing because this book was so precious to me and because of the impact it had on people during the pandemic. I felt a huge responsibility to do justice to Charlie’s vision and existence.
How did you want to approach the score in terms of instruments and what seemed essential to you to tell the stories of these characters?
I met Charlie about a year before the official ratings process began, so we had a long time to talk about the film and the sound the story needed. In these conversations, we knew that the piano would be the main instrument. It was as if the drumming of this one would communicate that feeling of home. The other instrument that was important was the cello because it’s a sound that Charlie really likes, and I like it a lot too, and the combination of those two instruments became the whole score. We also had to have an orchestral element because there are times in the film where things really need to skyrocket and grow.
How did you use the music to illustrate the drama and those tense moments?
I approached it to understand what was happening in a scene. Inside of that, a lot of different things happen, but what was going to drive the story forward? The cello is really great because aside from its depth of it, it gives you loads of different textures. It can go down and give you these really deep feelings, but it can be very lyrical or it can sound pretty scary.
One of the final clues, “You are loved and important,” is the message of the book and film. What went into the making of this?
Even though there was a lot of stuff in the score, the final line “Home” was written completely away from the picture, then inserted, and it worked. With “You Are Loved and Important,” Charlie had a particular sense of when the stage focus was and where it should be. I found this helpful because I needed to emphasize love. We needed a warm piano chord underneath. If it came a second too soon or a second too late, or even too loudly, you don’t hear the word. It was about small adjustments that made all the difference. The other thing to note is that there are so few words in the film that have their melody and I didn’t want to get involved. So you don’t need music because it was so deep. But this signal was the main theme.
What was another important clue?
“Flying” because it was one of the last ones I wrote and it was so important. I don’t always write in order, it’s usually in Windows. With that, it was quite late in the day as much of the material came from the rest of the score. This is the first time that the characters are all together. They are free at this point and at this point they have shared their vulnerabilities. It’s a beautiful moment of friendship and the boy releases his hands and he lets go and doesn’t fall. I sent it to Charlie and I was nervous, but he sent me a video with tears streaming down his cheeks. I will never forget that.