A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

After LA Confidential many expected Kim Basinger's career to go into some sort of revival, but with I Dreamed of Africa and Bless the Child being the two films that followed, those expectations didn't turn out to be the case.  Her career seems to have pretty much fizzled out into making trashy films (the one notable exception being 8 Mile), and so along comes Cellular, a film with a joyously daft premise whereby Basinger is kidnapped and her only hope of survival is to stay on her cellphone to a complete stranger - if she loses the signal, she loses her life!  My, the tension.

Providing the music was John Ottman, and his score is a stylish and unusually dynamic one for a modern suspense thriller.  It may be a bit OTT for the film, but it works great on album, as this release from La-La Land Records demonstrates.  There's more than a small hint of Jerry Goldsmith from time to time, which is certainly no bad thing, with Ottman constructing some of his more forceful music in much the same way as Goldsmith used to, even making use of a trombone glissando which was something of a trademark for the late composer.  Ottman also seems to have taken a few hints from Michael Kamen's Die Hard-style action music, particularly in his use of brass and percussion.  All of which adds up to a really good fun experience.

It would be unfair to give the impression that this is pastiche, because it certainly isn't: Ottman has injected more than enough of himself into the music to make it entirely his own and all the better for it.  If once or twice he does perhaps go a little too far overboard, at least he is trying to get interesting music into a film such as this one, which happens rarely these days, and he deserves praise for that.  While it would be a push to describe the music as thematic, it is certainly entirely melodic (another rarity) and the two standout action tracks "Going Shopping" and "The Pier" really are terrific, demonstrating a side to Ottman's music which hopefully can be explored further in future projects.  

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Tracks

1. Opening / Abduction (3:10)
2. Going Shopping (3:32)
3. Making a Connection (2:20)
4. Freeing Ricky (4:05)
5. Mooney's Curious (1:21)
6. School's Out (4:22)
7. The Bait (3:06)
8. Epiphany / Bank (4:02)
9. LAX (4:21)
10. We're Going to Die (2:11)
11. The Pier (4:09)
12. Lost Connection / Dirty Cops (4:42)
13. Porsche / Simple Bio (3:36)
14. Police Station (4:01)
15. Fake Out (2:12)
16. Shoot Out (5:42)