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Frank and Jesse: (Mark McKenzie) There have been
countless films inspired by the James family of outlaw fame, going all
the way back to 1939. The 1994 movie
Frank and Jesse, directed by
Robert Boris, places Bill Paxton and Rob Lowe in the roles of Frank and
Jesse, respectively. Acting isn't the high point of the film, and
further evidence of this is country music star Randy Travis playing a
prominent role in the film (and, inevitably, singing). Everything in the
plot has been enacted in the many films about the James brothers
throughout the years, and this entry examines everything from the Civil
War and their father's killing all the way through the well-known shot
in the back of Jesse James in 1882. The script by Boris doomed
Frank
and Jesse, providing lines that the brothers would never say and
forcing curious actions that are never explained or placed in context.
Needless to say, the film never gained any traction and a DVD release
has made no impact on the film's poor legacy. For film score collectors,
Frank and Jesse was notable only because it featured the third
film score composition by master orchestrator Mark McKenzie. As with his
previous efforts, McKenzie was limited by a small budget for
Frank
and Jesse. This was not an unusual situation for McKenzie at the
time, and yet, the restrictions seem to have hindered the score for
Frank and Jesse more than his other efforts of the era. Refusing
to produce synthesized scores (which is understandable, especially for
this genre), McKenzie instead chose to utilize the money he had for
about twenty minutes of orchestral score and leave the rest of the
performances to the talents of four soloists. The director requested a
score the would turn out to be something of a challenge: he wanted
accompaniment that would feature non-traditional instrumentation while
also somewhat retaining the Western genre setting of the story. McKenzie
responded by scoring the large action sequences with a small orchestra.
Although his technique of overdubbing multiple layers of certain
portions of the orchestra (and mainly the strings) is usually rewarding,
the overall result here isn't as inspiring as it has been with his other
scores.
Not surprisingly for McKenzie, thematic development is
significantly emphasized, and the composer's separate ideas for the
family bond and their search for vengeance are occasionally quite
gripping. The orchestra, however, sounds stale and unenthusiastic in
parts, diminishing some of the wilder moments of the score with a dull
attitude. There are moments when the brass section falters, especially
during the Civil War montage, causing a bit of a distraction.
Compositionally, a few of these exciting chase and battle cues are
entertaining, and a treatment by a fuller orchestra, as was the case
with McKenzie's previous score,
Warlock: The Armageddon, would
serve the music a much better sense of justice. Rounding out the score
for
Frank and Jesse are performances by the small ensemble, with
a recorder, harmonica, guitar, jug, and a make-shift percussion
instrument called an arched string wire accompanying conversational
scenes. Though not particularly outstanding in and of themselves, these
players' moments are often more interesting than those with the small
orchestra. Unfortunately, McKenzie only occasionally merges the soloists
with the orchestral ensemble (as is the case with the final cue), and
this is a shame. McKenzie's abilities involving the composition for a
recorder are great, as heard in the 1999 score for
Durango, and
they provide some of the most engaging moments in
Frank and Jesse
as well. Overall, the score is functional in all its parts, providing
themes that may seem slightly cliched in the Western genre. Its
orchestral bursts are an improvement in sound over his previous work,
but they rarely match the composer's superior material to follow. The
obscure Intrada album (of about 39 minutes in length) for this score is
a very decent presentation, and McKenzie collectors will find parts to
surely enjoy. The opening suite, a standard for McKenzie scores, is a
strong survey of the score's strengths. Incidentally and not
surprisingly, Travis' performance of the song "Auld Lang Syne" in the
film does not appear on the score album. Almost eighteen minutes of this
score exists on McKenzie's first promotional compilation, and you can
hear many of this score's highlights on that album.
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| Bias Check: | For Mark McKenzie reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.78 (in 9 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.45
(in 3,022 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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