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Composed and Produced by:
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Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
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Conducted by:
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Michael Nowak
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Release Date:
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May 14th, 2002
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are pleased by classical romance music (similar to
that of Philip Glass and Gabriel Yared) with substantial piano
performances.
Avoid it... especially if you are looking for one of the several
prominently featured songs in the film, none of which appear on this CD.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Unfaithful: (Jan A. P. Kaczmarek) The scenario isn't
new by any means of the imagination. The director of Fatal Attraction
and 9 1/2 Weeks offers yet another tale of marital infidelity,
obsession, and mental anguish. The plot of Unfaithful is your typical
story of the upper-class, middle-aged couple living the American Dream until
the day that the wife decides to succumb to the mystery, spontaneity, and
charm of a younger man she met on the streets. Alas, unholy acts transpire.
The ensuing investigation and troubling discovery by the husband is followed
by the couple's attempt to reconcile and move on. With a formula so simple,
it's difficult to imagine what the music for the film could accomplish that
hasn't been heard before. The film has lengthy moments of silence, during
which the score would be required to convey the body language of love and
guilt. Polish composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek was tasked with providing another
lurid layer to the picture, extending the basic, romantic emotions that
dominate the film. Kaczmarek has proven capable of classically inclined
works in a handful of films that have gained attention in America since
1999, and is especially known for the piano performances within his
compositions. For Unfaithful, Kaczmarek offers a conservative,
mysterious score that sometimes displays passion, but above all, presents a
orchestrally romantic undertone that remains very consistent throughout the
film. As expected, the piano is central to Unfaithful, with several
outstanding performances backed up by a full string section of the orchestra
in numerous cues.
The challenge for Kaczmarek would be to produce a
passionate score without exploding into open orgasm (a la Basic
Instinct) and without falling into a well of the romantically mundane
and repetitious (a la Rachel Portman's work for many non-fans). To that end,
Kaczmarek would aim for something remarkably similar to Gabriel Yared's
romance work, whether it be The English Patient or Message in a
Bottle. "The entire movie is shot so beautifully, so the imagery was
very inspiring at any moment," he states, "but also extremely difficult to
score." He also mentions that Philip Glass' work for The Hours is the
kind of classy work to which he aspires, continuing by saying of Glass,
"it's such a nice step toward what I'm doing - still keeping his
minimalistic engine." Kaczmarek's Unfaithful is likely more
accessible to mainstream Western listeners than Glass' work, with an easily
recognizable theme, pronounced piano performances, and haunting female
vocals. The wordless vocals are the wildcard in Unfaithful, sometimes
elegant ("The Visit") and sometimes staggered with excitement ("Sudden
Turn"). The score's only tortured cue comes late ("The Obsession"), and the
result of Kaczmarek's effort is a very relaxing, if not too relaxing of an
effort. The passion never builds beyond a restrained volume, which is
disappointing for album listeners, but that characteristic of the score also
allows it to be a strong background listen for evening occasions. The album
does not feature any of the songs in the film (Moby, Radiohead, Nara and Ali
Toure, etc), and the score is top-heavy, with the majority of lush romantic
cues settled near the beginning. Unfaithful is a strong listen, but
only for fans of Yared, Portman, Glass, or other masters of classical or
minimalistic romance. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. At Home (1:36)
• 2. The Wind (2:21)
• 3. Video on the Bed (1:20)
• 4. Braille (1:57)
• 5. Triangle (3:04)
• 6. Farewell (1:34)
• 7. Cold Bathtub (1:46)
• 8. Discovery (1:08)
• 9. Sudden Turn (2:48)
• 10. I Hate Myself (2:52)
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• 11. Unfaithful (2:35)
• 12. Car Wash (1:30)
• 13. The Visit (2:18)
• 14. Unfaithful (piano variation) (2:40)
• 15. The Globe (2:03)
• 16. The Obsession (2:48)
• 17. Burning Pictures (4:51)
• 18. Together (3:01)
• 19. Silence (1:48)
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The insert includes only a list of performers. If you are looking for the African blues song heard twice in the movie (once during foreplay and once during the bathtub scene), it is not included on this soundtrack CD. The song you want is called 'Al Du,' performed by an artist named Ali Farka Toure. It can be found on a CD titled 'Talking Timbuktu' with Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Toure. Other music not included on the soundtrack CD, including that which you hear during the first lovemaking scene when Diane Lane's stomach is in lusting seizure mode, are two tracks by 'Dead Can Dance' from their 'Spiritchaser' CD. The songs titles are 'Devorzhum'and 'Dedicace Outo.'
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