Ladyhawke (1985)

I recently rewatched the movie “Ladyhawke” (1985) on Tubi resulting in two takeaways.

1) The terrible soundtrack almost ruined the movie for me. Too much ‘do current thing’ instead of focusing on integrating the music and the scene to set the emotional tone. By the time the music improved, I no longer trusted it and I was trying to ignore the music. In drafting a story, it is just the characters and I together in those moments; in editing, I need to give due consideration to engaging the reader in that moment without betraying that reader. Much of the editing I have to do involves adding the ‘music’ to the drafted text.

2) Phillipe, a thief and liar, develops throughout the story in his relationship with the truth. While starting all liar, he begins to tell literal lies that are figurative truths, especially giving voice to the unspoken words of other characters. Through speaking the deeper truths, he draws out the other characters to be open in their honesty. Eventually Phillipe develops to speak the hard truths that are unwelcome. The story could have been more consistent on those lines and had a payoff that wasn’t so muted.