Sharon Van Etten made her impressive acting debut in Netflix’s sci-fi series prematurely canceled The OA. The indie rocker extraordinaire is now set to appear in her first-ever feature film, the Sundance-acclaimed drama Never Rarely Always Sometimes. What’s more, she’s contributed a new song to the big screen project.
In the movie, Van Etten plays the mother of Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) a teenager that travels from Pennsylvania to New York City in order to seek an abortion. Van Etten’s soundtrack contribution, titled “Staring at a Mountain”, appears during the end credits of the film as Autumn’s mission comes to a conclusion.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the singer-songwriter discussed the track and its placement in Never Rarely Sometimes Always, saying,
“I literally have a mountain in my backyard; we call it our bluff. I’d just moved to California this past fall, and it was a little isolating at first — a big change from New York. So I’ll just sit at the piano and stare, trying to feel feelings. [Laughs] I literally just thought of Sidney on that bus, driving home, and I was thinking about where she’s going. Feeling misunderstood. I wanted to give a little bit of light in the song, too.”
Van Etten also talked about one of the film’s main takeaways. “Without forcing my ideals upon other people, I think that the most important thing is for young women to know they’re not alone,” she said, “and that this is a common story that they can feel some kind of comfort in knowing that there is a way.”
Hear “Staring at a Mountain” below. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, directed by Eliza Hittman, opens in select theaters this Friday, March 13th.
Meanwhile, Van Etten will continue to support last year’s excellent album Remind Me Tomorrow with a US spring tour. Snag your concert tickets here.