The Dallas Buyers Club Trailer Has the Alabama Shakes

At the intersection of movie trailers and music, what does Alabama Shakes You Aint Alone (and also The Heavys What Makes a Good Man) tell us about the upcoming Matthew McConaughey film?

Theres always so much to unpack about a movie trailer: the stars, the plot, how much of the plot is being totally given away. But in many cases, the part of the trailer that sticks with you the longest is the music. Be it a pop song or a piece or orchestral score, its the music that most often makes a trailer.

This Weeks Trailer: Dallas Buyers Club, which takes us back to the 1980s for the story of shit-kicking rodeo cowboy Ron Woodroof, whose AIDS diagnosis spurred him on to a crusade to save his own life, primarily by smuggling non-approved drugs in from Mexico and then starting a sale operation. This is the movie McConaughey lost all that weight for, and consequently its the one everybody expects him to make a seriously Oscar play for. Hes joined by, among others, Jennifer Garner as his doctor (and love interest?) and Jared Leto as a trangender (or possibly a drag queen) associate of McConaugheys.

This Weeks Tune(s): "You Aint Alone," by the Grammy-nominated roots rockers Alabama Shakes. With special assist by The Heavys "What Makes a Good Man."

How Literal Is It? Pretty literal, in bth cases. "What Makes a Good Man" comes in the middle of the trailer, as McConaughey is swaggering his way to and fro across the Texas/Mexico border and setting up this drug operation, and the certainly appears to be telling us exactly how we should be feeling about the protagonist. Then, when its time to downshift into high emotion, the Alabama Shakes song kicks in, right at the part where McConaughey, Garner, and Leto take turns being there for each other in their hours of need.

How Emotional Is It? Incredibly. The difference between a movie where McConaughey smirks his way through one of Americas darkest periods and a movie that resonates and has the potential to be one of the years best is whats implied by that final third of the trailer. The trailer borrows gravitas from the song, which acts as a promise that we will end up connected to these characters and probably devastated by films end.

How Definitive Is It? It should be mentioned that The Heavy should probably have a bust in the Trailer Tunes Hall of Fame for how often "How You Like Me Now?" has been used in movie trailers. "What Makes a Good Man" isnt quite at that level of ubiquity, but its made the rounds. Alabama Shakes havent been as utilized by the trailer industry, but they should because the song works like gangbusters here. Its a tough line to walk between heartstring-tugging and well-earned emotion, and Brittany Howards voice pulls that off.

Overall Trailer Tune Effectiveness: The beats are expected, yes. You cant get out of a Matthew McConaughey trailer without some swagger. But my gosh, will that Alabama Shakes song make the many repetitions of this trailer that well be seeing over the next few months go down much smoother.

LINK:	http://tribecafilm.com/features/dallas-buyers-club-trailer-song-alabam...
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