Jacob’s Kiss is set during the wedding night of Jacob (Tom Williamson from The Fosters) and Rebecca (Emily Killian). The young couple waited for this very night to make love for the first time, but the reason is not as romantic as one may think. As Rebecca attempts to woo her new husband, he starts to act very strange. Jacob is haunted by a past that could have devastating effects on the future of his new marriage.
The score for this film required a bit of nuance. For the happier scenes, such as the wedding day, I wanted to create a piece that was ethereal and blissful yet pensive. Michael Figari (the director) and I wanted to romance the audience but also communicate that this wedding is like a dream that reality will not live up to. To accomplish this, I chose to feature an emotive, ambient piano playing a free time motif during the opening scene of the movie, where we find the endearing bride and groom taking their idyllic wedding pictures. Other scenes in the movie required a different approach. For instance, Jacob has flashbacks throughout the film that Michael chose to animate in order to make the difficult subject matter a bit more palatable. We didn’t want these scenes to be scored like a horror film, but they still needed to be taken seriously and convey a certain level of discomfort, so I crafted a piece using a low drone, erratic cello bends, and agitated ethnic percussion. I did not include melodic material because the scene was meant to feel vacant and austere. Towards the end of the film, Jacob breaks down and becomes a victim of his own tormenting thoughts. To this end, I thought it would be effective to play around with his voice by reversing it, pitching it down, and adding echo effects to evoke feelings of chaos and distress.
While Jacob’s Kiss is not a true story, it sheds light on trauma that afflicts people every day. I sincerely hope this film will give them comfort to know that they’re not alone.