Buy it... if you are an enthusiast of Patrick Doyle's knack for authentic romantic expression but have wondered how his inherent lyricism would translate into a massively gothic horror environment.

Avoid it... if you have little tolerance for scores that go "over the top," making no attempt to dilute monumentally harmonic and propulsive tragedy with an abundance of nuance or lengthy interludes of rest.

Doyle

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: (Patrick Doyle) There have been dozens of cinematic adaptations of Mary Shelley's famed novel about Victor Frankenstein and his tortured creature, but until Kenneth Branagh's version in 1994, none had made a really concerted effort to faithfully tackle the original story's issues of family dysfunction and abandonment. Through the years, movies about Frankenstein's creation have ranged from the popular realm of cheap horror to ridiculous parody, and Branagh sought to do justice to the concept by following, with just a few narrative alterations, the actual plot of the novel. This shouldn't come as a surprise, because the gothic tragedy that the tale represents isn't far from a simple extension of the melodramatic nature of the actor/director's interest in William Shakespeare. As in the novel, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein moves swiftly through Europe and the arctic, with death befalling nearly all the major characters and the boundaries of hard science cast aside in favor of a convenient analysis of severe familial challenges. Featuring a compelling supporting cast and soundly praised art direction and makeup (the latter nominated for an Oscar), the film suffered from Branagh's own, strangely fanciful performance as Victor and a morbid gruesomeness that was simply too depressing for some audiences to handle. Its disastrous showing at the American box office was offset by worldwide interest that eventually transformed Mary Shelley's Frankenstein into a surprisingly robust fiscal success. As expected, the young cinematic collaboration between Branagh and friend Patrick Doyle extended to this project. The composer, while known most widely for his association with the Bard in that decade, was exploring a period from 1991 to 1994 that would yield his most ambitious horror music, a sound that he did not delve into with such resolve for the remainder of the 1990's or the 2000's. The trio of Dead Again, Needful Things, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein arguably represent Doyle's most darkly dramatic career material. While the middle entry is a somewhat cheap, cliched regurgitation of genre music with an underpowered orchestra, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a mature extension of the romanticism of Dead Again, and it has long stood as the composer's most powerful expression of symphonic mayhem and dread. Like the abomination, everything about Doyle's score is massive, and a wet mix of an extremely dynamic orchestral performance will at times blow you out of your seat.

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There is a force of orchestral power in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that overcomes the composer's often fluffy and dainty structural tendencies, taking that familiar hopelessly romantic allure and injecting it with so much bombast that the still harmonic burst of energy is monumentally unique, despite remaining recognizable as a Doyle entry. The scope of the recording is an outstanding asset, especially when brass layers do sonic battle. There is interestingly no choral accompaniment in this score, a shame given that Doyle had employed singers in his previous works and could have forgiven himself for such silly usage in Needful Things. A rich balance between the sections of the orchestra is aided by occasional organ, but medium range drums mixed too much at forefront are a detriment during some propulsive cues (especially the final two minutes of the score). The rowdy force of "The Creation" approaches Elliot Goldenthal territory in its densely challenging, extremely brutal tone, especially from the brass. On the other end of the score, several earlier cues express the flowing strings and flourishes of woodwinds that you'd expect in this era of Doyle's music, but with greater depth. Several melodies run throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, anchored by the love theme for Victor and Elizabeth that is fully developed in "The Wedding Night" (though already explored in previous cues throughout the film). Written before the film was shot, this theme is expressive Doyle romanticism at its melodramatic pinnacle. The creature is provided a wailing brass motif (once again reminding of Goldenthal in its defiance of pitch) that extends from its birth to its fiery demise in "He Was My Father." The score features a title theme that is unfortunately under-utilized, though it is very well stated several times at the outset in "To Think of a Story." Doyle would humorously reference parts of this theme in his much later score for the animated film Igor, and its extremely heavy, downbeat personality would have been a welcome addition to more of the meat of the score. Among the best aspects of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is its frantic pacing, almost always returning to a fierce, rolling sense of momentum after brief interludes of romanticism. Even "The Honeymoon" isn't immune from this frightening, forward movement. In this regard, Doyle perfectly captures the definition of obsession in his music. The entire score is an expression of tragedy to behold, an immense career achievement that suffers from a tendency to collapse under its own weight after a while. Expect a demanding listening experience that will tax your stamina and make you wonder why Doyle has not further explored this type of music in subsequent years. ****   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

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For Patrick Doyle reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.85 (in 26 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.48 (in 20,137 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.