Movie Wave Home
Composed by
Rating
Album running time
Performed by
Orchestrations
Engineered by
Released by
Artwork copyright (c) 2004 Paramount
Pictures; review copyright (c)
2004 James Southall
|
TWISTED Unwaveringly
bleak thriller score A review by JAMES SOUTHALL Philip Kaufman's career is particularly eclectic, ranging from
directing The Right Stuff and Invasion of the Body Snatchers to
writing Raiders of the Lost Ark. His choice of composers has been
similarly eclectic; as director he has worked with Bill Conti, Toru Takemitsu,
Stephen Warbeck and now Mark Isham. Isham's own Hollywood career can
essentially be split into three sections: his sumptuous slices of moving
americana in such films as Fly Away Home and A River Runs Through It;
his jazz (his first love) in Quiz Show or the recent, brilliant The
Cooler; and his dark and menacing scores for action movies and
thrillers. By far the weakest of the triumvirate, in terms of making great
albums, is the latter - Isham's moody music tends to fit the film like a glove
but rarely functions particularly well outside of it. Twisted is
the tale of a police detective (played by Ashley Judd) investigating a serial
killer who is murdering her former boyfriends, one by one. The score actually starts very promisingly: the moody, dark,
seedy jazz of "The City" sets an excellent trumpet line over low,
rumbling strings and synthesisers - it's a bleak soundscape to be sure, but is
interesting and has a certain hook. Unfortunately, what follows rarely
functions particularly well as music, with Isham favouring various percussion
effects (live and taped) and a prepared piano darting around more low strings
which creates an unsettling, unnerving atmosphere - it's similar, in fact, to
the bulk of Jerry Goldsmith's underscore for LA Confidential but without
the explosive highlights or a killer main theme. "The Docks" is
a typical cue, with percussion crashing down to signal excitement but also huge
unease being provided by keyboards. Things don't really change until the
closing "You Are the One", which makes for a solid - if unspectacular
- finish, with the score's only hint of warmth (brief though it is). I'm always surprised, quite frankly, when scores like this get
released, since there doesn't seem to be that much of a potential audience - the
film isn't the sort to generate large soundtrack album sales, even if it is
unexpectedly successful; Isham might sell a few albums based on his name alone,
but surely not all that many; and the music isn't the sort that will appeal to
many casual listeners. However, it's good that they are since listeners
now have such a wide choice of albums and composers to choose from - there are comparatively
few unreleased scores (by "name" composers, at least) these days
compared with even a couple of years ago. Twisted has its moments,
certainly, but I doubt it will appeal to many people outside of hardcore Isham
fans. Buy
this CD from amazon.com by clicking here! Tracks
|