Limitless: (Paul Leonard-Morgan) There are a lot of
stupid people out there, and that's probably why there's this scientific
myth that the average human can only use 20% of his or her brain power
at any given time. That, of course is inaccurate, lending credence to
the simple fact that people likely choose to be lazy slouches and play
with their sex organs rather than invent the next source of clean,
abundant energy. In reality, though, if every neuron in the brain were
to fire at the same time, that person would be killed or substantially
damaged by the shift in the body's oxygen supply. Never mind such
trivial matters when watching the 2011 thriller
Limitless,
however, a movie that postulates that people could invent a pill that
would allow you to use all of your brain's potential simultaneously and
perpetually. The lead character is down in the dumps when he acquires
this drug, and not long after that he finds himself rich, with the woman
he loves, and a target of those trafficking the pills. His aspirations
turn to corporate and political power, all the while dealing with the
drug's side effects. Though it would have been funny if the plot had
left the man alone, destitute, and with irreparable erectile
dysfunction,
Limitless instead shows him become superhuman even
after weaning himself of the pills, a lovely lesson to be taught to our
younger generations about the benefits of drugs. The movie (formerly
named "The Dark Fields" after the book that inspired it) is a science
fiction thriller with a fair amount of chasing, and it stirred up enough
critical praise and word of mouth to generate impressive returns at the
box office. None of the production elements (not even Robert De Niro in
a supporting role) was meant to stimulate that extra 80% of our supposed
brain power, unfortunately, and foremost amongst the ridiculously stupid
aspects of
Limitless is its original score. Most people outside
of Great Britain will not be familiar with Scottish composer Paul
Leonard-Morgan as of 2011, but his road towards this first international
feature recognition is populated with music far better than what you
hear in
Limitless. For those who have appreciated his career for
its variety of television scores, solo album, and arrangements of
electronics, vocals, and strings, there is easily a discernable
connection between his style and that of collaborator Craig Armstrong.
While much of his score and solo work could be written off by film music
veterans as bland contemporary electronic blends for low budget
environments, Leonard-Morgan has been honored with both a BAFTA award
win and Ivor Novello nomination for his efforts. His grand orchestral
work for a recent BBC show about Scotland's history is impressive.
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
| | |
|
Only $12.99
| | | |
|
So how on Earth did Leonard-Morgan write such
unintelligible trash for
Limitless? It must be that 20% of the
brain phenomenon. One subtle constant in the most recognized work by the
composer is his tendency to reveal his inspiration. Any film music
veteran will recognize touches of Armstrong's influence without knowing
the factual connection, especially in his similar use of the piano. For
Limitless, Leonard-Morgan seems to have decided to emulate the
absolute most electronically brash and systematically vague method of
treating a motion picture to heavily manipulated electronic samples and
spewing them out without unique style or even any regard for
synchronization points. Imagine the sound your gas-powered lawnmower
makes when it hits a big chunk of wet grass and chokes its engine to a
halt. Imagine the grinding of your co-worker's dying computer hard drive
as he kicks the crap out of the workstation in the midst of a tough day.
Imagine that nagging rattle that comes from the convergence of the front
driver-side pillar and dash of your aging vehicle when travelling on the
highway. Imagine the clattering of a laundry dryer full of clothes
covered with metal buttons. Imagine that moment of panic when you
realize that you've just heard yourself run your boat over a large,
exposed rock. Imagine half of the obnoxious noises Trent Reznor and
Atticus Ross conjured for
The Social Network. Imagine 53 minutes
of all of these slashing, clicking, ripping, crunching, tearing, and
slapping layers mixed haphazardly using the best manipulation techniques
that computers can now utilize to turn sound effects into music. And
there you have the score for
Limitless. Rock band elements, led
by layers of electric guitars and hyperactive percussion, are joined by
keyboarded motifs and meandering background string lines. There are
moments when these ingredients give you a palatable cookie, as in "Eddie
Knows What to Do" and "I Still Love You," but these are essentially
dumbed-down ambient solo pieces. The rest of the score is a string of
boring, tired electronic rhythms and loops meant to exude coolness and
be "out there." It's a "hey, look what I can do with my computer's
software" kind of effort. Even the score's only true unifier, its
primary theme, is extremely simplistic in its major/minor shifts of
three-note phrases; it is over-referenced to the point of exhaustion.
The mix of the score is meant to be extremely harsh and synthetic
("Eddie is Sick" is excruciatingly painful), and between this futuristic
environment and the score's total lack of emotional appeal or narrative
development, one would think there isn't a live person in the plot.
Perhaps if the software was asked to entirely replace composers someday,
this is the kind of pointless garbage the machine would yield. Get out
your pain pills, fellow listener, for here awaits your limitless
headache.
* Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
