Buy it... if a bleak environment of mostly subdued techno-erotic electronica is your idea of a good time.

Avoid it... if you require anything more than a cold and dark synthetic environment, devoid of personality or thematic and instrumental cohesion.

Isham

Body Shots: (Mark Isham) If anybody needed proof that Generation X dating in the 1990's was both complicated and unnerving, then Body Shots is that overwhelming evidence. Director Michael Cristofer approached the subject with bizarre visual and narrative effects, examining an alleged date rape from the perspective of eight attractive and hip men and women in their twenties who shared the same night. Shifts through time and the habit of having characters address the camera directly, along with graphic discussions about (and displays of) sex aimed this New Line Cinema project directly at an arthouse crowd, where it was met with indifference. It's a film that says a lot without making a statement, subjecting the audience to possibly the worst that society has to offer without any redeeming emotional element. For Body Shots, composer Mark Isham dabbles his feet in the seductive world of techno-erotic electronica, developing yet another branch of his vast library of genre talents. The score is as dark and troubled as the plot of the film, following the sexual crime with a heart so cold that you could really use it to explore questions about whether sex without love equates to violence. While the music is not outwardly disturbed in a frightening sense, it isn't a pleasant listening experience, and unless you're an enormous fan of electronica underscore, then Isham's introverted accompaniment to Body Shots will leave you equally cold. Within the context of the film's storyline, Isham's score captures enough of the dance beat environment and charged, cool movement to function successfully. It has none of the characteristics of a normal film score, with nothing to tie it together. A theme introduced by Isham himself on a seemingly distorted trumpet in "Two of Us Together" isn't reprised throughout the mass of the score, and its progressions are so understated that it may not even leave an impression in the two renditions of that one cue. The only other organic element in the score is a brief cello solo that aimlessly meanders in the background of "No Remembering." Otherwise, the score consists of only industrial electronic elements that harshly paint a bleak landscape devoid of emotional gravity.

	Learn about supporting Filmtracks

The ambient personality of Body Shots is never given a chance to progress from point "A" to point "B" in the score; there is no sense of development or achievement whatsoever. Even the instrumentation isn't given a chance to form a cohesive personality; none of the rhythms or sampled sounds carries over from scene to scene with the intent of painting a larger canvas. At least the bass region, while exploited a couple of times for the impact of a bar's coolness, isn't as domineering in the majority of the score as it could have been. Between the long cues of monotonous dance rhythms and seemingly endless repetitions, only the grim, metallic nature of the chilling atmosphere prevails. For a score depicting the modern societal study of sexual relations, the music is interestingly devoid of much in the way of sultry qualities. It may have a slightly seductive rhythm here or there, and it may accompany such an exploration adequately, but the lack of steaminess is a comment about film's stark nature more likely than it was simply an unintentional stumbling. The trumpet and cello solos are such minute contributors that they offer no break from the repeating synths and occasional use of light, synthetic string effects. The only cue to really achieve a listenable status is "Afterplay," which hints at some development beyond the score's lengthy and subtle motif of chord progressions, but ultimately is still just an easy light rock background experience. The album opens with an alternately intriguing and wretched reworking by Moby of the famous "Love Rap" sample. While "Bodyrock" will be insufferable for most orchestral film score collectors, it really is the most interesting aspect of the album release, fitting within the same general boundaries of Isham's score but at least providing something more than dull ambience. That bleak, inner-city tone lasts for 36 minutes on album, likely to succeed in only sucking the life out your listening environment. There's nothing inherently wrong with the necessity of this sound, but why Body Shots was pressed onto CD (even with Milan's preferential treatment of Isham's music) is a curious question. Contrary to publicity for the album, Body Shots isn't a very upbeat or promising score, and perhaps its redemption comes in the form of its brevity. *   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Mark Isham reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.9 (in 21 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.88 (in 8,084 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.