Good news for fans of electronic music AND teen assassins: the Chemical Brothers will be scoring Joe Wright’s upcoming film Hanna, starring the young Soairse Ronan as a trained assassin.
The news comes out of New York Comic-Con, courtesy of Firstshowing. Firstshowing reports that a few scenes were shown from the film that looked “okay,” but that Wright himself confirmed that the Chemical Brothers would be scoring the film to give it a more “modern beat.” The film certainly sounds like it will be a break in tone from Wright’s previous films, which have included the WWII epic Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, and the classical-music-influenced The Soloist.
Here’s the plot synopsis for Hanna:
Hanna (to be played by Ms. Ronan) is a teenage girl. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts of a solider; these come from being raised by her father (Mr. Bana), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Sweden. Living a life unlike any other teenager, her upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own (Ms. Blanchett). As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity.
This news continues a trend of conventional musicians taking on the task of scoring a film (a trend we discuss in an upcoming episode of the /Filmcast: After Dark). Most notably, Trent Reznor recently released a great score for The Social Network, and Daft Punk will be scoring the upcoming Tron Legacy. Musical artists have also used the opportunity to deliver something quite different than their characteristic sound (see the score for The Box by members of Arcade Fire). Whatever the case, I’m excited about this development, and it may make the Hanna soundtrack a must-purchase when it’s released.