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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
In these respects, the electronically driven harshness of Proof of Life is perhaps the least recognizable work of Elfman. Even with such scores as A Simple Plan and Instinct, there was a stylistic haunting of Elfman's unique touch. While I did not care for those scores, they were still saturated in the Elfmanesque shadows of minor and major key toils. For the first time, Proof of Life offers a score that is devoid of that slight to overwhelming style. This could have been the work of Don Davis, Marco Beltrami, Larry Groupé, or a dozen other synthesizer experts. Perhaps that was the most disappointing aspect of Proof of Life; it's subtle, rumbling theme and choppy electronic rhythms are merely average, and they don't take the kind of risk that I am accustomed to hearing Elfman take. It is almost as though he partially abandoned his own percussive and thematic styles in order to imitate a typical "B" score effort that could have been produced by just about anyone these days. The reason I have come to this conclusion is because Elfman has the ability to polarize many of his fans. With the introduction of this electronic inclinations over the past few years, fans have either loved or hated his music. For some reason, that love and hate relationship is absent in Proof of Life. Does that make the score boring? Maybe. There are many functional scores which just don't capture much feeling on album. While alternating between sinister and delicate tones throughout, the music is not engaging. It is mixed to be in your face during the opening titles, with the accoustical bass rapturing in twisted convolutions, and yet it doesn't actively involve the listener. Even after the fourth listen to the entire score, I found it to be mildly interesting, listenable in its majority, but still underachieving. Even if it means that I would not enjoy the score as much, with no doubt, Elfman can do more (and better) than this. The exotic elements of the score, in light of the score's anemic envelopment of the listener, seem like a page stolen from the books of Patriot Games or Beyond Rangoon, but never so obvious. The most interesting moments of the score are those when the accoustics are toned down and mixed with piano and strings. During sixth and ninth tracks, the only character development within the music is experienced, and the finale, with its moderately sized, cynically conducted orchestra, provides the only strong hint of Elfman's past styles. The cliche ending, pronounced by the pounding of a few keyboard bass notes, spin the score backwards into the pot of average, musical stew. The fantastic flop of the film at the box office is similarly reflected in Elfman's music. The basic elements are all there, but it's just too difficult to become attached to it. And unlike some of Elfman's other recent scores, Proof of Life is not quirky enough to sustain itself on minimalistic exterimentation alone. It simply fades away into the library similarly conceived and performed efforts by many other, lesser known composers. ***
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