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| Isham |
Body Shots: (Mark Isham) If anybody needed proof
that Generation X dating in the 1990's was both complicated and
unnerving, then
Body Shots is that overwhelming evidence.
Director Michael Cristofer approached the subject with bizarre visual
and narrative effects, examining an alleged date rape from the
perspective of eight attractive and hip men and women in their twenties
who shared the same night. Shifts through time and the habit of having
characters address the camera directly, along with graphic discussions
about (and displays of) sex aimed this New Line Cinema project directly
at an arthouse crowd, where it was met with indifference. It's a film
that says a lot without making a statement, subjecting the audience to
possibly the worst that society has to offer without any redeeming
emotional element. For
Body Shots, composer Mark Isham dabbles
his feet in the seductive world of techno-erotic electronica, developing
yet another branch of his vast library of genre talents. The score is as
dark and troubled as the plot of the film, following the sexual crime
with a heart so cold that you could really use it to explore questions
about whether sex without love equates to violence. While the music is
not outwardly disturbed in a frightening sense, it isn't a pleasant
listening experience, and unless you're an enormous fan of electronica
underscore, then Isham's introverted accompaniment to
Body Shots
will leave you equally cold. Within the context of the film's storyline,
Isham's score captures enough of the dance beat environment and charged,
cool movement to function successfully. It has none of the
characteristics of a normal film score, with nothing to tie it together.
A theme introduced by Isham himself on a seemingly distorted trumpet in
"Two of Us Together" isn't reprised throughout the mass of the score,
and its progressions are so understated that it may not even leave an
impression in the two renditions of that one cue. The only other organic
element in the score is a brief cello solo that aimlessly meanders in
the background of "No Remembering." Otherwise, the score consists of
only industrial electronic elements that harshly paint a bleak landscape
devoid of emotional gravity.
The ambient personality of
Body Shots is never
given a chance to progress from point "A" to point "B" in the score;
there is no sense of development or achievement whatsoever. Even the
instrumentation isn't given a chance to form a cohesive personality;
none of the rhythms or sampled sounds carries over from scene to scene
with the intent of painting a larger canvas. At least the bass region,
while exploited a couple of times for the impact of a bar's coolness,
isn't as domineering in the majority of the score as it could have been.
Between the long cues of monotonous dance rhythms and seemingly endless
repetitions, only the grim, metallic nature of the chilling atmosphere
prevails. For a score depicting the modern societal study of sexual
relations, the music is interestingly devoid of much in the way of
sultry qualities. It may have a slightly seductive rhythm here or there,
and it may accompany such an exploration adequately, but the lack of
steaminess is a comment about film's stark nature more likely than it
was simply an unintentional stumbling. The trumpet and cello solos are
such minute contributors that they offer no break from the repeating
synths and occasional use of light, synthetic string effects. The only
cue to really achieve a listenable status is "Afterplay," which hints at
some development beyond the score's lengthy and subtle motif of chord
progressions, but ultimately is still just an easy light rock background
experience. The album opens with an alternately intriguing and wretched
reworking by Moby of the famous "Love Rap" sample. While "Bodyrock" will
be insufferable for most orchestral film score collectors, it really is
the most interesting aspect of the album release, fitting within the
same general boundaries of Isham's score but at least providing
something more than dull ambience. That bleak, inner-city tone lasts for
36 minutes on album, likely to succeed in only sucking the life out your
listening environment. There's nothing inherently wrong with the
necessity of this sound, but why
Body Shots was pressed onto CD
(even with Milan's preferential treatment of Isham's music) is a curious
question. Contrary to publicity for the album,
Body Shots isn't a
very upbeat or promising score, and perhaps its redemption comes in the
form of its brevity.
* @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Mark Isham reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 26 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.87
(in 9,958 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
