The Life of David Gale: (Alex Parker/Jake Parker) Essentially
a film advocating the abolishment of the death penalty in the American justice
system,
The Life of David Gale features the last minute detective work of a
reporter who believes that a condemned man was framed. With only hours remaining
until the moment of execution, the audience is conflicted by the man's claims of
innocence and the potential for manipulation. Largely a mystery with a keen sense
of urgency, the narrative manages to make its point without preaching, which is an
admirable trait. The films of producer and director Alan Parker had covered a wide
range of different musical genres, including the immense adaptation of
Evita
in 1996 and a collaboration with John Williams for
Angela's Ashes a few
years later. For
The Life of David Gale, Parker didn't immediately know what
direction to take with the music. His two sons, Alex and Jake, are both musicians
and had assisted their father with temp scores for his films in the past (and they
even contributed thematic material to
Come See the Paradise). Alex is an
audio engineer and performer of electronic instruments, and Jake is classically
trained to compose with orchestral elements. During the shooting of
The Life of
David Gale, director Parker once again utilized the assistance of his two sons
for temp work. As the process continued, a decision was made to simply elaborate on
that temp work and produce the final score out of it. Both Alex and Jake were
unleashed on the project almost immediately after scenes were shot. It would be the
first time this would happen for the Parkers, and it inevitably saved the studio
some money. What resulted is, not surprisingly, what sounds like a well-recorded
temp score. The director instructed his sons that he wanted something modern and
edgier for the thrilling story. Alex produced the synthetic rhythms necessary to
accentuate the harsh, banging reality of the capital punishment system, while Jake
worked with the London ensemble on the orchestral elements meant to add an organic
sense of humanity to the score. The disparate styles of the two composers are
clearly distinct, especially under examination out of context.
The cues by Alex are atmospheric and employ harsh electronic
samples and driving urban rhythms to set a mood through attitude alone. No
outstanding or consistent rhythm elevates itself beyond the others. The rocking
"Media Frenzy" cue rips with electric guitar madness and perhaps underlines the
true attitude behind the electronic half of the music. Mixed in with these rhythms
are several rap-like whisperings and sound effects not unfamiliar to the techno
scene. Meanwhile, Jake contracted an orchestra that consisted of only a string
section, seemingly a curious move. Director Alan Parker often referred to Jake's
half of the score as the "classical" half, but what the string orchestra often
produced was material that could easily have been substituted with electronic
strings closer to the Alex side of the equation. The string writing is very
simplistic, with a slight motif developed as its melody and sometimes no bass to
accompany the dual violin lines. The most impressive writing by Jake appears in the
first score track on the album, "Almost Martyrs." The experimentation in the
musical approach to
The Life of David Gale may suffice in the film, but it
suffers from incongruence on album. Jake and Alex's material simply does not mix
well, and with the two songs by Alex starting and essentially finishing the
soundtrack, the mundane string writing by Jake in between becomes completely lost
in the mix. In fact, although orchestral film score collectors may be more inclined
to enjoy the string performances, the album could have benefited by emphasizing
Alex's style (even though the film required some melodramatic appeal in an
orchestral fashion). The Alex Parker songs are consistent with his score material,
and will likely turn away score enthusiasts; their sultry, dreary, heavy rhythms
(combined with the unremarkable pseudo-singing by Alex) work to set an appropriate
attitude, but make for an even more difficult listen on album when compared to the
other material. The three source songs on the album are an equally eclectic group,
furthering the disjointed whole, but the Toni Price song, "Just to Hear Your
Voice," is a highlight of the album. Overall, it's difficult to describe why this
group effort didn't work, but the trouble definitely originates in the vast
differences between Alex and Jake's styles. The duality of personality may fit the
film's suspense well, but on album it is too inconsistent for a lengthy
appreciation.
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The insert includes a note from director Alan Parker regarding the
creative involvement of his sons in the project.
