Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are an avid collector of Stewart Copeland's more immensely percussive and depressingly atmospheric works. Avoid it... if you expect a score that either impresses you with its instrumental creativity or maintains a satisfyingly consistent mood in its disturbing demeanor. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Simpatico: (Stewart Copeland) Adapted from a play by Sam Shepard, Simpatico is a convoluted portrait of four characters and the lengths to which their backgrounds force them into unsavory relations. Spanning the concepts of revenge, money, crime, and horse breeding, Simpatico is an extremely unsatisfactory film, irritating to both critics and audiences, and not even the performances by a top notch ensemble of performers could make you care about the tragic circumstances unfolding on screen. It is rare that a film essentially about blackmail can leave viewers so cold about every character involved, and it is this lack of engagement that caused the ironically unlikable Simpatico a hasty arthouse death. For a story of such disillusionment, the assignment of Stewart Copeland to score the movie was a frightfully appropriate one. Working on a number of eclectic scoring projects since branching out from the rock band "The Police" in the 1980's, Copeland's scores of the 1990's were very consistent in their low-budget, acoustical appeal. As a legendary percussionist, Copeland specializes in using electronic rhythms and guitars (acoustic and electric) for most of his film scores. Over the years, his scores haven't varied much in style, perhaps speaking to an intrinsic lack of training in the realm of film scoring, and the best he seems to muster to differentiate them is an alteration of their moods. Such is the case with Simpatico, which takes a twisted, dark spin on Copeland's usual singular ensemble for a tense thriller of a score that barely registers for much of its length. Accomplishing the right alienating mood is what the music for Simpatico achieves beyond all else. Desolate, disturbed, and sparsely constructed, Copeland's small-scale electronics create a very effective, disjointed atmosphere for the film. Without a break, the score for Simpatico softly weaves its way through minor-keyed shades of gray with intermittent rhythms and elongated synthesizer effects. Occasionally, a searing electric guitar will distinguish scenes, while other more simplistic, softer acoustic guitar motifs roll along in the background. Bass heavy rhythms with echoing percussive samples provide a limited soundscape that nevertheless creates an eerie and unsettling listening experience. The few moments that will capture your interest will be those that vary the instrumental palette; In "Bad Sex" and "Shoot Simpatico," Copeland provides a spooky blowing noise that whispers across your speakers. In the former track, and elsewhere early in the score, a faint series of female vocals goes underutilized. The blowing sounds are keenly manipulated to mimic the distant cries of a police siren as well. The highlight of the score is "Rosie to the Race," which opens with the vocal motif and introduces a minor-key alternation of sampled strings that is used throughout the score as a suspense motif. Thematically, the score explores some country stylings in the opening cue, but the fragments of those ideas aren't well collected in the remainder of the score. On the whole, the score isn't complex enough to maintain interest in it for long periods of time. And, conversely, its attitude is just too defiant in its sparse statements by guitar to be an easy listening experience, either. The disturbing demeanor will likely have an audience, but even with the proper mood, Simpatico doesn't offer enough creativity to suffice as stand-alone entertainment. The hazy atmosphere of the score carries over to the first song at the end of the album, and though it suffers from sloppy vocals, it's at least more appropriate than the second one, which is far too upbeat for the album to support. With only 25 minutes of score on that album, it will be difficult to find many buyers for the product. Avid collectors of Copeland's immensely percussive works may find some merit in it. ** Track Listings:
Total Time: 31:22
All artwork and sound clips from Simpatico are Copyright © 2000, Milan Records. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/31/99, updated 11/13/07. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1999-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
