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LIFE AS A HOUSE – Mark Isham
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Despite his well-founded reputation as an accomplished jazzer, Mark Isham has shown on several occasions a real aptitude for writing quiet, emotional music that tugs at the heartstrings. His latest score, for the moving drama Life as a House, is one of these, and fits in well with earlier works such as Nell, October Sky and Fly Away Home, The film, directed by Irwin Winkler, stars Kevin Kline as George, a man for whom life is not going well: he has split from his wife Robin (Kristin Scott-Thomas), is estranged from his wayward son Sam (Hayden Christensen), has lost his job, and is diagnosed terminal cancer and given four months to live. Feeling a need to put his life and affairs in order before he shuffles off the mortal coil, George asks Sam to help him as he embarks on an ambitious project to knock down and re-build his house on the coast, in the hope that, through their shared experiences, father and will reconcile their differences before he passes away. However, Sam does not relish the prospect of working hard on a house with a father he has no interest in, when he could be drinking and partying with his buddies… that is, until mom starts to reappear on the scene, and he begins a tentative relationship with Alyssa (Jena Malone), the pretty girl-next-door. Read more…
FROM HELL – Trevor Jones
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s been a while since Trevor Jones hit the film music world with a new cinematic score. In recent years, the affable South African has concentrated mainly on writing for low budget, low profile big screen and television scores, scoring critical successes with efforts such as Merlin and Cleopatra, and commercial success with Notting Hill, but little public recognition. The political drama Thirteen Days went some way to redressing that balance in the early months of 2001, and continues with From Hell, a dark thriller set in 18th Century London. Read more…
MULHOLLAND DRIVE – Angelo Badalamenti
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Angelo Badalamenti: what a turn around. After knocking my socks off with The Beach and The Straight Story, and converting me into a fan of the New Yorker’s unique style of film music, he goes and pulls a score like this on me. Badalamenti’s scores for David Lynch have always been somewhat unconventional, as works like Wild at Heart and Lost Highway attest, but Mulholland Drive could almost be taken as an exercise in sound design than anything resembling conventional music. As someone who has been around scoring sessions enough to recognize that ALL film music takes talent to create, I would not be rude enough to suggest that Badalamenti did not know what he was doing with this score… but that doesn’t mean I have to like it in any way shape or form. Read more…
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