Press release from Music Mill
When Gary Seeger first took on the role of Music Supervisor for the film Disgrace, starring John Malkovich, he knew it was going to be an important film for the Australian film industry and for Music Mill to be associated with. It has now become a personal favourite and career highlight for the 25-year music industry veteran.
Set in South Africa, Disgrace is based on J.M Coetzee’s Nobel Prize winning novel. Brought to life by filmmakers Steve Jacobs and Anna Maria Monticelli, it is receiving much acclaim from worldwide critics and filmgoers. The media has particularly focused on their surprising feat in snatching the film rights whilst contesting with numerous well-known overseas directors.
For Seeger, securing the music supervision role was just as important. “I read the book a few years ago and being married to a South African, I knew the importance of it”. He adds, “When you’ve got a main character being played by John Malkovich, you know this is going to be an important film”.
With obvious industry attention in the production, getting the job on the first meeting was not what Seeger expected. He describes filmmakers Steve and Anna as “passionate, hardworking perfectionists” and he knew this would be a challenging yet rewarding role.
Coming into the project at the tail end of pre-production, Seeger’s creative brief was fairly straightforward, “Classical works, township jazz and some South African pop hits from the period”. Seeger explains the film’s director “Steve, knew what he wanted, but was open to ideas that I brought to the table”.
Research began for Seeger by turning to his wife’s family who reside in South Africa, and then listening to artists who were popular at the time, like Johnny Clegg. Identifying songs and appropriate pieces was a lengthy process and Seeger acknowledges, “I’ve never listened to so many pennywhistle songs”.
Sonically the film draws on two genres of music – classical compositions, featuring works by Mozart, Gluck and Verdi, and traditional South African pieces. Seeger explains the music in the film revolves around what is happening with the main character, David Lurie. “It needed to be authentic” and the music is used to help demonstrate what the character is “experiencing and where he is… his home territory is full of literature, art, fine wine and classical music”.
This is then juxtaposed with what Seeger calls “his seedy life in the prostitute areas with buskers and market areas buzzing with life”. There are over 12 works featured in the film, which are complemented by a beautiful score composed by Anthony Partos and Graham Koehner.
With Disgrace currently receiving international attention, Seeger ranks the project as one of his music supervision career highlights. Apart from his respect for the film’s producer and director, Seeger’s reasoning is fairly straightforward, “It’s adapted from a book that I love, I have a connection with South Africa, I’m a fan of John Malkovich, and I just had that feeling that it has all the ingredients of becoming a classic."