Buy it... if you are familiar with Hans Zimmer's subdued styles of
Smilla's Sense of Snow and are ready for something even more
texture.
Avoid it... if your Zimmer collection is purposefully weighed heavily
with his large-scale orchestral and electronic blockbusters.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Zimmer
Badelt
The Pledge: (Hans Zimmer/Klaus Badelt) The 2001
directorial project of Sean Penn was received reasonably well by critics, but
failed at every level with audiences. Fans of Jack Nicholson were presented,
though, with a fantastic performance by the actor. The role offered the
usually cocky role actor an opportunity to seriously examine his inner soul
and do so in a pseudo-religious fashion. The film was a sparse murder
mystery in a small town during winter with Nicholson's character, as a
detective, making a pledge to the mother of a slain child to find the
killer. The battle between the temptation to retire, fear of getting old,
determination to solve the crime, and coming to terms with the town is all
balanced in a very slowly paced, deliberate film. Without an obvious ending,
the film is heavy in introspection from the start to the end, with only the
development of a single character to hold the interest of the audience. Such
projects were not unknown to Hans Zimmer. In recent years, the now-popular
composer has been playing the fields of offers for high-priced action and
drama films, creating a fan base for his pounding combinations of symphonic
and synthetic power. There is another group of fans, however, who prefer
Zimmer's more introverted tendencies towards arthouse films. The
Pledge is a return to a handful of those projects which Zimmer scored in
the mid-1990's for films that did not require a score to elevate its volume
beyond a single line of dialogue. These scores often include bare minimum
instrumentation, very subtle themes, and a very low key attitude; both A
Whole Wide World and The House of the Spirits contain the same
character drama, but it is Smilla's Sense of Snow that best mirrors
the stark reality that is shown in The Pledge. Aside from the snowy
setting, the scores both accompany a character seemingly alone and
struggling.
In the case of the detective in The Pledge, Zimmer,
along with apprentice Klaus Badelt, accentuates that feeling of loneliness
to an even greater degree. In many of these other efforts, Zimmer has
collaborated with one of his fellow Media Ventures artists, creating a theme
or texture for a score and then handing the rest of the duties to these
associates. While his role in The Pledge is not clear, the score
maintains its personality through a tightly woven fabric of small-town
texture. A piano, solo voice, violin, and traditional guitar offer the mass
of motif performances. There is little to no thematic development in the
score; instead, the textures mature through rhythm and the enhancement of
Zimmer's library of synthesized samples. The electronics, much like in
Smilla's Sense of Snow, range from ambient droning to an active role
in propelling the fear and desire of the story by utilizing subtle, looping
rhythms. Even at its loftier moments, such as the cues "Revisit Crime Scene"
and "You're Crazy," the score continues to present itself in a drab, slushy
manner. In these regards, the depressing consistency of the shallow music
perfectly reflects the fear and self-doubt of the main character in the
film, but it also is one of the causes of the film's main problems. The film
suffers from a very drawn-out plot, with maybe 30 to 40 more minutes than
really necessary, and the score is equally oppressive in its ability to
subject the listener to its traumatized world for lengthy periods. The score
does have a handful of more upbeat cues, especially involving the violin in
a more active rhythm. But in its ability to restrain itself to a serious,
underscored position, fans have made correct comparisons between The
Pledge and some of Danny Elfman's similarly themed scores (Dolores
Claiborne and, even more so, The Simple Plan). Unless you are
completely prepared for this listening experience, and you have enjoyed
Smilla's Sense of Snow already, then be careful with The
Pledge. It is Zimmer music at some of its most deeply troubled and
contemplative reaches, and it will be a difficult and/or boring listen for
fans of his more active, mainstream work. The commercial album presents 40
minutes of the most noteworthy score material, with a 72-minute bootleg
(surfacing in 2002) offering even more of the mundane underscore. The length
of the bootleg works against it, and the commercial album takes many of the
shorter cues (available in original order on the bootleg) and presents them
in a more listenable suite format. Only the most fanatic of the Zimmer
die-hards should seek the bootleg. **
• 1. The Angler (5:24)
• 2. Boogie Man (1:28)
• 3. Jerry & Lori (1:01)
• 4. Church Nightmare (2:19)
• 5. Revisit Crime Scene (1:16)
• 6. My Coat (2:47)
• 7. The Wizard (4:05)
• 8. Ex Cop (1:50)
• 9. He'd Rather Not (2:00)
• 10. Land of Christmas (1:22)
• 11. Reading Stories (3:03)
• 12. Turkeys (1:36)
• 13. The Pledge (1:19)
• 14. The Swing (2:20)
• 15. Ginny's Picture (2:31)
• 16. You're Crazy (5:57)
Track Listings (2002 Bootleg):
Total Time: 72:38
• 1. Opening Salvation (5:48)
• 2. Office Look (1:00)
• 3. Indian Runs (1:26)
• 4. Dead Chick (2:26)
• 5. My Coat (2:26)
• 6. Turkey Farm (2:13)
• 7. The Pledge (1:09)
• 8. Indian Suicide (1:42)
• 9. Airport (1:57)
• 10. Land of Christmas (1:27)
• 11. Angel Suicide (2:07)
• 12. School Yard (1:30)
• 13. Ginny's Picture (1:11)
• 14. Entering Monash (0:42)
• 15. Boogie Man (2:44)
• 16. Triangle Map (1:13)
• 17. X-Cop (2:02)
• 18. Black Car Fuels (0:34)
• 19. Revisit Crime Scene (2:27)
• 20. Psychiatrist (2:22)
• 21. Chrissy to School Bus (1:02)
• 22. Pink Balloon (0:53)
• 23. Porcupine Brushes (0:57)
• 24. Fish Frying (1:43)
• 25. New Relation (1:22)
• 26. Gary Jackson (2:14)
• 27. Reading Stories (2:09)
• 28. Jerry and Lori (2:56)
• 29. Snowmobile Day (1:30)
• 30. Gary's Cross (1:54)
• 31. Church Nightmare (2:48)
• 32. Swinging Salvation (2:26)
• 33. The Wizard/Oliver Leaves (6:29)
• 34. Out of Position/Pulling Out (1:42)
• 35. You're Crazy (4:07)
Notes and Quotes:
Neither album's insert includes extra information about the score or film.
