A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

A strong and tense hostage drama, Costa Gavras's Mad City may be very similar to any number of other films, but it is still surprisingly engaging and benefits from strong performances, especially from Dustin Hoffman and Alan Alda.  The director's career has seen him make numerous European films, very rarely straying into the English-language domain, and this seems a strange project to pick, but still; for the score, he enlisted Thomas Newman, for one of his last scores before he went from being on the A-list to being at the top of the A-list with American Beauty.  

The film came in the same year as Red Corner, and there are certainly similarities in approach.  Here, there is less of an emphasis on percussion, but the rhythms and bursts of bizarre solo instruments are quintessential Newman.  Predictably, this is resolutely not one of Newman's scores where he writes the big orchestral themes that everyone loves, nor even one where he blends that style with his own unique sound; Newman sticks to his guns and the score works very well.  There isn't much to say beyond that - as ever, the music is all about texture and atmosphere.  The predominance of Indian instruments, particularly in earlier portions of the score, seems to have no relevance to the film, but it still works very well in it, and just as well out of it.

"Feds Fly In" is one of those infectious Newman pieces you could play over and over (like the opening theme from American Beauty); the closest the score comes to warmth is in "Catfish Corner", featuring a lovely performance by the orchestra, making its most noticeable contribution to the score.  (The material is reprised and fleshed-out for the impressive end title cue, "Unfavourable Light").  While Newman does use the orchestra elsewhere, it is usually just in a supporting role, rarely coming to prominence.  "Softball Questions" is a brief cue, but a very good one, with Newman's trademark pizzicato string style coming to the fore.  Mad City is an engrossing album which will appeal to all fans of Newman's quirky style and, while it doesn't quite have the highlights that his best scores do, it still comes recommended.  He has such a unique and powerful musical personality, it is hard not to admire his various scores.  While other composers are becoming more and more generic, Newman is one of those who is sticking resolutely to his guns and writing his own way, and that is to be applauded.  Mad City is a fine example of his well-honed style.

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Tracks

1. Channel (2:53)
2. Max Goes Out (Version I) (2:07)
3. He's Sunk (2:23)
4. Mic Tap (:59)
5. Sole Demand (1:47)
6. Max Back In (1:16)
7. Max Goes Out (Version II) (1:22)
8. The Wrong Bullet (1:24)
9. Meanwhile (:50)
10. Pizza Man (1:02)
11. Hollander Report (2:37)
12. Feds Fly In (1:56)
13. See the Crowd (:55)
14. A Good Tease (:55)
15. Massive Complications (1:33)
16. Catfish Corner (3:27)
17. Mic Tap (original) (:55)
18. Big John (original) (1:55)
19. Softball Questions (:48)
20. Shove Ms Banks (:34)
21. Rolling (:49)
22. Max Goes Out (Version III) (1:27)
23. Unfavourable Light (4:40)