HBO's Big Little Lies is receiving praise, not only for the cast and the narrative, but for its soundtrack too. Music supervisor, Sue Jacobs, and director, Jean-Marc Vallée, adapt the score through the different characters. For example, six-year-old Chloe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon's character Madeline, has her iPod with her at all times, playing music that syncs with cars and home entertainment systems throughout the show -- some of which are actually playlists she makes for her mom.
Jean-Marc started his career as a DJ which comes through in the well-thought-out soundtrack that was put together without a composer. Sue Jacobs says that the musical identity for Big Little Lies is all about tension, the push and pull, reflecting the beauty of the location and the dark storyline.
The pair place a great deal of focus on the score and tend to work together in a cohesive yet haphazard way, deciding at the beginning of every scene which character is going to be the device for the score. It's a brilliant way of ensuring that the audience's attention is with the music as well as the narrative. Hence the buzz, and why they even got offered a soundtrack album.
