INTERVIEW: A Conversation With Torin Borrowdale, Composer For "Five Days At Memorial"
I have been an avid fan of Torin Borrowdale ever since 2018 when I watched Searching for the first time. Even now, 4 years later, I can’t properly express how profound and compelling the music was for my experience with this film. Contributing to an opening sequence bearing emotional heft like the intro of Up, the score in Searching ingeniously frames a suspenseful twist-and-turns mystery and helps stick the landing on the most satisfying finale of any 2018 film. While Searching as a whole is a well executed cinematic experience, Torin’s magnificent score elevates this Sundance debuted thriller to an extraordinary level of excellence.
Alas, this is not a review of the score for Searching, although if it was, it’d be an easy six out of five stars rave review for the work. Instead, I’m elated to share the newest project Torin has worked on.
The new Apple TV+ miniseries Five Days At Memorial will feature an original score by Torin Borrowdale. Debuting to the streaming platform on August 5, this compelling miniseries directed by John Ridley (writer and Executive Producer of 12 Years A Slave) and Carlton Cuse (Executive Producer of Locke & Key, a Netflix show also scored by Torin Borrowdale) is based on the book of the same name by Shari Fink, and chronicles the stories at a New Orleans hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Image courtesy of Apple.
As Torin explains in our interview, the score he has composed for Five Days At Memorial is in some ways different than what we’ve heard with his previous work. There are risks he takes and vulnerabilities he explores in order to perfectly pair his composing style with stories at hand, and though I have not yet seen the show yet, I have no doubt that what he’s produced - like every other project he’s worked on, from Run, to Lock & Key, to Alto’s Adventure, to of course Searching - will exceptionally compliment this show as well.
Despite minor lagging issues with my internet connectivity during our talk, Torin and I have a wonderful conversation about his career, his approach to music composition, and his perspective on music in entertainment. The very first question I ask him is one I have wanted to ask since learning who he was after watching Searching: what is your all time favorite film score? You may not guess it, but what he chooses makes total sense and is quite satisfying to know if you’re familiar with his work.
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