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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
And this result, if I can draw the right analogy, is what would have happened if Poledouris' Les Misérables had been stripped of its passion and played with the same lack of enthusiasm that restrained Yared's The English Patient. For a film about conquest, desire, and anger, Serra's music for The Messenger has very little drive or intensity. It murmurs. It clangs. It rumbles. It trickles... But never does it unleash the power and/or character development that lies at the heart of the story. So much of the album is barely audible that I have no choice but to call the first half simply boring, though the volume and pace picks up near its finish. After the opening statement of theme, which itself is troubled and introverted, the album drags along at a snail's pace for the next twelve tracks. During this large section of the album, Serra programs his synthesizers to produce quiet electronic grinding and pounding sounds, often with very little accompaniment by the orchestra. The score does have a few momentous performances by a full, adult chorus. Tracks 19, 20, 24, and 26, however, are not Serra's original compositions; they are adaptations from traditional pieces for the film (which, in the end, resemble yet another twist on Orff's Carmina Burana more than anything else). The action sequences are unenthusiastic and thematically uninspiring. Track 16, the climax of the album's middle section, has non-descript, fully orchestral hits pounding over and over and over again, with little interesting variance. In short, the music is big, but far from epic. Imagine First Knight, but without any sense of heroism, style, or simple historical importance. The music for The Messenger, when not making use of a traditional battle or religious piece, is lackadaisical about its own subject matter. Serra's electronics again play an important role in the constantly distant pounding or droning to be heard in almost any track. Needless to say, this album was a major disappointment for me. A film of this genre and magnitude deserves a score that is more passionate and involving. The music salvages some strength beginning in track 18, and even grows with enthusiasm in track 21, but hits rock bottom with the pop song at the end. The song, which was written by Serra, really doesn't compliment the rest of the music on the album, and has some downright annoying voice-overs in its latter half. I can't imagine why this score would have been so restrained on purpose. The previous Besson/Jovovich/Serra collaboration, The Fifth Element, thrived on its creativeness, cultural innovation, and remarkable knack for capturing the spirit of the film's genre. Unfortunately, Serra's music for The Messenger, even with its grand size and choral adaptations, lacks thematic development, a heart and soul, and, perhaps most importantly, consistency. **
The insert notes contain extensive credits and lyrics to the final track, but has no extra information about the score or film. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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