Mark Kermode's Top 5 film scores of 2022
Did your favourite make the list?
Last updated 10th Feb 2023
2022 was an incredible year for movie music. We heard Hans Zimmer's music for box office hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Dune, plus plenty of our other favourite composers lend their hand to amplify the silver screen.
In his last show of the year, Mark looked back at 2022 in the world of cinema, featuring music from the big releases, as well as ending the show by playing his top five film scores of the year.
Listen back to Mark Kermode's last show of 2022 here.
Mark Kermode's Top 5 film scores of 2022:
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch – Living
"At number five, the music for Living by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch. She's a composer I've been championing on the show since the earliest days, since she did the music for Only You, which is a really, really lovely romance film, which I really, really liked her credit. Since then she worked on the Brit pic Rocks and she also did the score for Prano Bailey Bond's brilliant feature debut, Censor.
"Living is the remake of the Kurosawa film, Ikiru, and it's got Bill Nighy as this bureaucrat who comes to realise that there's more to life than bureaucracy and it's got a beautiful, melancholy feel to it. And I think that Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch's score really captures that melancholy magic. So that is my number five."
Abel Korzeniowski – Emily
"Number four in my top five scores of 2022 is Abel Korzeniowski's score for Emily, which is a really inventive non biopic inspired by both the life and the writings of Emily Bronte.
"It has a fantastic central performance by Emma Mackey, and it's such an adventurous film. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, but I loved it. I was drawn right into the world of the film and a lot of that had to do with Abel Korzeniowski score, which is just as adventurous and inventive as the film itself, it goes from these very kind of intimate moments to this full on gothic score. And it really adds to the film."
Hildur Guðnadóttir - Women Talking
"Number three in my list of my top five film scores of 2022 is a film which isn't actually released in the UK until early 2023, but it opened in America already. Variety are already tipping Hildur Guðnadóttir's score for Women Talking as a very, very strong Oscar contender. You remember that she won the Oscar for Joker.
"Her music added so much to that film. Well, in the case of Women Talking, she's done it again. It's an extraordinarily evocative score. It's a very, very dark story. But the music really gets under the skin of that story. Variety have got it as a very strong Oscar contender. I think it's one of my favourites of the year. It's at number three."
Terence Blanchard – The Woman King
"And at number two, a score by Terence Blanchard, whose score for Da 5 Bloods was in my top five last year. He's had two previous Oscar nominations for Da 5 Bloods and for BlacKkKlansman, but this year, he's onto another winner with The Woman King. It's a really big, epic sweep of a movie, and it's a really big, epic sweep of a score.
"You sit there watching the images play out on the screen and the music completely sweeps you up, get you involved in the characters, tells a very, very complex story. Again, I know the film divided opinion among critics and indeed some audiences, but I thought it was a really rich cinematic experience and a lot of that was to do with Terence Blanchard's score. Maybe this is his year."
Aska Matsumiya – After Yang
"So on to my favourite film score of 2022, and it's a score by a composer whose work I have championed since my first shows here on Scala Radio, a few years ago. It's L.A. based Japanese composer Aska Matsumiya.
"I first came across her work through some short films. I hadn't seen them, but I'd heard her music. Then she worked on features like Selah and the Spades and I'm Your Woman, and her score for After Yang, which is a film by Kogonada, is absolutely terrific. The film was actually made in 2021, and played some film festivals then, but didn't come out here in the UK until 2022, hence it's my favourite score of 2022.
"Here's what I love about it: if you're a regular listener to the show, you'll know that I like electronica and experimental music, and love a good squonk fest! But Aska's music for After Yang, which is a story about a family who have bought a robot into their family to help their daughter, and then the robot breaks down, is really touching. Some of the themes in it are things from AI and if you like films like Blade Runner, Marjorie Prime and Robot & Frank, you'll know the kind of area we're in.
"Aska's music is really ambient. Some film scores are big, but this is the other side of the spectrum from the likes of John Williams' music for Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'm a huge fan of the ambient work of Brian Eno and Harold Budd, and After Yang took me back to their beautiful albums like The Plateaux Of Mirror.
"I don't think that film music has to be a tune that you can whistle. I think that film music should reflect the atmosphere of the film. And when you're talking about a film which is thoughtful and melancholic and gentle, like After Yang, well, I think her music is absolutely on the money."
Don't miss Mark Kermode on Scala Radio every Saturday from 1 - 3pm to hear a range of familiar film scores, new releases and more eclectic discoveries. Listen as he reviews the latest films, champions up-and-coming film composers and takes us on a journey through the film scoring process.
If you enjoy film music you can hear the very best film scores on our Premium station, Movie Blockbusters.
Read more:
Hans Zimmer: 10 stunning soundtracks from the 21st Century
James Bond: A history of every theme song through the years
Scala Radio Love Letter: John Williams' most iconic of scores for Harry Potter