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The Wicker Man: (Angelo Badalamenti) What exactly
was director Neil LaBute thinking when he conjured the idea of remaking
this cult 1973 film? A comedy, perhaps? There really are films that are
so bad that they unintentionally become funny, and if you're already
familiar with the horrific surprise ending of the original story, then
everything about the 2006 version of
The Wicker Man could be
considered amusing. Anthony Shaffer's 1973 screenplay presented
genuinely interesting questions about the differences between
Christianity and paganism, and in the exploration of these ideas,
presented a gripping horror plot without any of the gore that often
accompanied the genre's entries at the time. Aided by Christopher Lee's
dominant role as a villain, and a recent restoration of the film, the
1973 film has remained a compelling cult attraction. The 2006 film keeps
essentially the same basic story, including some identical dialogue, but
throws in a prologue and changes some of the plot elements leading up to
the terrifying sacrifice at the end. Lost in LaBute's remake is the deep
religious investigation of the original, blurring the religious lines in
favor of more conventional suspense. The colony at Summer's Isle is now
a renegade feminist faction, the missing girl is now the cop's daughter,
and a badly miscast Nicolas Cage is now the subject of their attentions.
Also violently different from the original is the music in the 2006
remake. The 1973 score by Paul Giovanni was mostly a small-scale folk
piece, with Celtic songs written for recorders, acoustic guitar, lyres,
and solo strings. Restored on album a few years ago, it was as bizarre
to enjoy apart from the film as some of the story's own ritualistic
scenes were to watch. Now, in tradition with LaBute's random rotations
between composers on his projects, veteran Angelo Badalamenti was hired
as an initially surprising, but ultimately understandable choice for the
remake. On the surface, the assignment of Badalamenti makes sense,
because
The Wicker Man combines elements of religion and suspense
that Badalamenti has frequently written for separately in the past. The
interesting aspect of this score, however, is Badalamenti and LaBute's
surprising alteration to the musical voice of the story.
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Rather than maintain the folksy approach of the
original, the director and composer decided to take a far more
conventional avenue. While Badalamenti has worked extensively with
electronic soundscapes in the past that could serve him well here, the
score for the new
The Wicker Man is largely symphonic, with the
notable exception of the "Flashback Memories" cue that uses the cliche
of backwards mixes for a flashback sequence. Otherwise, Badalamenti uses
the orchestra as his central force, and almost equally surprisingly
conjures several harmonic themes to represent different elements in the
story. This was done intentionally, according to director and composer,
to lure the audience into succumbing to the innocence of the island's
beauty and the cop's former lover. In true Badalamenti fashion, however,
the score never allows you to get settled. Badalamenti introduces all
his major thematic material in his "Overture for the Wicker Man," most
of which is rooted in a harmonious minor key while employing the
assistance of a solo female voice to represent the island's society.
Each of these themes, though, despite being performed with a lush
romanticism, contains several disjointed chords and unsynchronized
counterpoint, creating an illusion of beauty while keeping you off
balance. This technique continues throughout the score, as the themes
for the island, the former lover, and the cop are eventually merged as
the burning sequence nears. More eclectic instrumentation, including
some electronic elements, persist as the score reaches that finale
(though it send us off with one final, mournful female vocal for good
measure). The vocal performances are the highlight of the score, as are
the melodic passages they accompany. The "Overture" and "Secret Meeting
Note" cues present some gorgeous writing, though most of it exists in a
perpetually ominous depth of brooding bass. As such,
The Wicker
Man is an intense listening experience at these moments. In its
plentitude of suspenseful nightmare or conversation cues, Badalamenti's
score is more anonymous... functional, but lacking the kind of
distinctive character that the 1973 score certainly had. Speaking of
that original, the Silva Screen label released a remastering of that
recording just a few years ago, and is also responsible for the
45-minute release of the 2006 Badalamenti effort. It's an intriguing and
worthy score, given the desired direction of the remake, but its
inherently disturbing undertones are the romantic themes' undoing on
album.
*** Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
The insert includes information about both the score and the film.
