Music is a cheat code. Filmmakers know it, we know it, and yet we let it happen every single time. But there is one specific song that has become the ultimate emotional heavy hitter in cinema over the last few decades. I’m talking about Joni Mitchell’s "Both Sides Now." Specifically, the 2000 orchestral re-recording. It’s a track that carries so much weight it almost feels like a spoiler when you hear those first few strings swell. You know exactly what’s coming. Total emotional devastation.
The song has been used in everything from high-budget dramas to indie coming-of-age flicks. Why? Because it deals with the one thing every human being eventually has to face: the loss of innocence. It’s about realizing that life isn't a fairy tale and that the "clouds" we saw as children were actually just blocks of ice and rain. That’s heavy stuff for a movie theater.
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The Emma Thompson Factor: Love Actually and the Song That Defined a Career
If you mention both sides now in movies, nine out of ten people will immediately think of Love Actually (2003). It is the gold standard.
In the scene, Emma Thompson’s character, Karen, has just discovered her husband is cheating—or at least planning to—because she found a gold necklace in his pocket that wasn't for her. She has to go into her bedroom, put on a CD to hide her crying from her kids, and just... exist in that pain for three minutes. Richard Curtis, the director, chose the 2000 version of Joni’s song for a very specific reason.
The original 1969 version is folk-heavy and bright. Joni was 24. She was singing about the idea of growing up. But the 2000 version? Joni’s voice is lower, raspier, and weather-beaten by years of life and cigarettes. It sounds like someone who has actually lived through the "sides" she’s singing about.
Karen stands by her bed, smoothing the duvet, trying to keep her face from falling apart. It’s one of the most painful pieces of acting in modern cinema. Thompson didn't need a monologue. She just needed Joni. The song provides the subtext that Karen’s entire world has shifted from the "angel hair and ice cream castles" of her marriage to the "real" side—the side where things break.
Honestly, the scene wouldn't work with any other track. It’s the sonic equivalent of realizing your life is never going to be the same.
It’s Not Just Romance: Hereditary and the Horror of Reality
You wouldn't expect a folk-jazz masterpiece to show up in one of the most terrifying horror movies of the 2010s. But Ari Aster is weird like that.
In Hereditary (2018), "Both Sides Now" plays over the closing credits. It’s jarring. After two hours of cults, decapitations, and psychological trauma, hearing Joni Mitchell feels like a slap in the face. But it’s brilliant. The song re-contextualizes the entire movie. It’s no longer just a "scary movie" about demons; it’s a tragedy about a family that was doomed from the start.
The lyrics about "looking at life from both sides now" take on a literal, gruesome meaning in the context of the film's plot involving the physical and spiritual worlds. It shifts the viewer from fear to a weird, hollowed-out sense of grief. It forces you to look at the "illusions" the Graham family lived under before their reality was torn apart.
The Viral Moment: CODA and the Power of Silence
Then there’s CODA (2021). This is where the song found a whole new generation.
Emilia Jones, playing Ruby Rossi, performs the song for her Berklee College of Music audition. It’s a pivotal moment because her parents, who are Deaf, are in the balcony. They can’t hear the lyrics, but they can see the emotion. Ruby starts signing the lyrics as she sings, bridging the gap between her two worlds.
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In this context, both sides now in movies takes on a literal meaning regarding the "two sides" of Ruby’s identity—the hearing world and the Deaf world.
The choice of "Both Sides Now" here is almost meta. The song is about perspective. Ruby is finally showing her father her perspective through her passion for music, a "side" of her he could never access before. When she signs "I really don't know clouds at all," it feels like she's talking about the complexity of her own life. It helped the film win Best Picture, and honestly, Joni's songwriting deserves a percentage of that Oscar.
Why This Specific Song?
You might wonder why directors don't just use "Landslide" or "The Winner Takes It All" every time. Those are great, but "Both Sides Now" has a unique structural DNA.
- The Tempo: It’s slow, but it has a relentless, marching quality. It feels like time passing.
- The Lyrics: They aren't specific. They don't mention a boyfriend or a job. They mention clouds, love, and life. This makes the song a "blank slate" that can fit almost any tragic scenario.
- The Vocal Texture: Specifically in the 2000 version, Joni sounds like a wise, slightly cynical grandmother. There’s an authority in her voice that demands you take the movie's drama seriously.
The "Joni Effect" in Recent Cinema
We saw it again in the 2024 Netflix film Nyad. It pops up in documentaries. It’s in The Last of Us (though that’s TV, the cinematic quality is the same).
The industry calls this "needle-dropping." A good needle drop does the work that five pages of dialogue can't. When a character in a movie is at a crossroads, Joni is there to tell the audience that the character is losing their illusions.
But there’s a risk. Is it becoming a cliché?
Maybe. Some critics argue that using both sides now in movies is a bit of a shortcut. It’s "emotional manipulation 101." If you play that song, people are going to cry. It’s like using a puppy in a commercial. But even if it’s a shortcut, it works because the song is inherently true. We all eventually realize we don't know life at all. We’re all just looking at the "ice cream castles" until the sun melts them.
Real-World Impact: The "Both Sides Now" Renaissance
Since its frequent use in film, the song has seen a massive surge on streaming platforms. According to Spotify data from recent years, "Both Sides Now" (2000) often sees spikes in listenership whenever a major film or viral clip (like Joni Mitchell’s 2022 Newport Folk Festival performance) hits the cultural zeitgeist.
People aren't just watching the movies; they’re taking the song home with them. They're adding it to their "Crying in the Car" playlists. It has moved beyond being a piece of music and has become a cinematic shorthand for "The End of the Beginning."
How to Appreciate the Use of the Song
Next time you're watching a movie and you hear those first few notes, don't just roll your eyes and grab a tissue. Look at what the director is trying to tell you about the character’s internal state.
- Check the version. Is it the 1969 version? The character is likely young, optimistic, or naive. Is it the 2000 version? They’ve been through the wringer.
- Look for the "Shift." Usually, the song starts when a character is at their lowest point and ends when they've accepted a new, harsher reality.
- Listen to the silence. Often, directors will pull the music out right at the line "I really don't know life at all." That silence is where the real movie is happening.
If you’re a filmmaker or a storyteller, the lesson here isn't just "use Joni Mitchell." It’s about finding music that has lived a life. Use tracks that have a history. The reason both sides now in movies works is that the song itself has aged alongside the audience.
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To truly understand why this song hits so hard, go back and watch the Love Actually bedroom scene, then immediately watch Ruby’s audition in CODA. You’ll see two completely different uses of the same lyrical theme—one about the death of a romance, the other about the birth of an independent life. Both are "sides" of the same coin.
The next time life feels a little too heavy or you feel like you're losing your grip on how things "should" be, put this song on. It won't give you answers. Joni herself admits she doesn't have them. But it’ll remind you that everyone else is just as confused by the clouds as you are. That’s the real magic of cinema—making us feel a little less alone in the fog.
Actionable Insight: If you're looking to explore the deeper discography behind these cinematic moments, start by listening to the full Both Sides Now (2000) concept album. It’s a song cycle that traces the history of a relationship, and hearing the title track in its original context provides even more weight to its use in film. For a deeper dive into film theory, look up the term "Anempathetic Sound"—it's often how directors use beautiful music to highlight horrific or sad imagery.