 |
| Howard |
Concussion: (James Newton Howard) With the subject
of concussions suddenly a hot topic in the National Football League in
the early 2010's, several films went into production about how players
and the sport were dealing with the problem. One produced by Ridley
Scott in 2015 was
Concussion, which followed the framework of
real-life events surrounding the forensic pathologist who initially
discovered the neurotrauma in Pittsburg after an autopsy of a former NFL
player. He took his findings to the League but was initially shunned by
both its leadership and even the players' union. In the end, however,
his research helped usher in an era of lawsuits and hypersensitivity
regarding concussions in players and the constant head trauma they
experience in the sport. The film had the unfortunate task of using real
names and places, and that meant that nobody was particularly happy with
the creative liberties taken with the plot. Some claimed that the
production was too easy on the League itself. Regardless, not even the
star power of Will Smith in the lead role could pull a decent profit or
much meaningful acclaim for
Concussion. The project represented
the second collaboration between writer and director Peter Landesman and
composer James Newton Howard, the two having worked together a few years
earlier on the somber
Parkland. For this second venture, Howard
provided a somewhat conservative dramatic score with hints of suspense
and even horror in the darkest parts of the story's midsection. The
composer has written many of these character scores with an
inspirational conclusion through the years, and
Concussion
certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel. A moderate orchestral ensemble
with woodwinds is joined by piano solos at times. The middle of score,
when not exploring the unlistenable horror passages for mental suffering
and impairment, is heavy on the low strings with solo woodwinds or piano
meandering on top. A synthetic layering common to Howard's urban
thriller scores is also reprised, led by deep, thumping keyboard
effects.
As is typical to these kinds of scores from Howard,
Concussion contains a metallic percussive presence built from his
usual grinding effects with high reverb, applying sounds that highly
resemble those heard in the suspenseful parts of the first two
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them scores. More contemporary
percussive shades strive for cooler gravity in "News Conference," but
Howard otherwise steers clear of anything that could be deemed
confident. A sparse, high-range choral element seems synthetic and
provides almost mythical ambience to the player-oriented cues of "Jacked
Up" and "We Used to be Warriors." There is some wretched synthetic
dissonance in "Strzelczyk Visits Webster" and "Strzelczyk Loses It" for
the actual suffering of these former players; rights agency attributions
suggest that portions of these tracks were likely the work of Klayton,
otherwise known as the lead of the rock project Celldweller, who
provided synth programming for the score. (Howard was no stranger to
such inter-genre collaborations in his otherwise orchestral scores,
especially on the rock side.) Standing alone as a separately licensed
piece for the film is "In the Darkness" performed by Lisbeth Scott from
Harry Gregson-Williams' involvement in 2007
Gone Baby Gone, and
this reprise is appended to the end of the soundtrack album for
Concussion. Howard provides three themes for the score, but the
two softer ones don't always make sense in the narrative. While each of
these ideas hits the right emotional tone, the actual attributions to
the story aren't as clear as hoped, and they struggle to serve much
purpose in the narrative's midsection. A theme likely for Bennet starts
as the most aspiring identity in the score but yields hope to another
theme later. Heard at 0:09 into "Concussion" on strings and building to
a bigger rendition at 0:44, this idea barely guides "Bennet and Prema"
in slow but pleasant atmospheres. It tickles on piano, clarinet, and
acoustic guitar in the first minute of "Published - Marry Me," meanders
on oboe early in "Tell the Truth" and on clarinet in "I am Offended,"
and opens "Prema Followed" on piano in fragmented phrasing for fright.
It's tender on clarinet at 1:28 into "Be at Peace" in the idea's fullest
and most satisfying performance since the opening cue.
The theme for Bennet in
Concussion is eventually
supplanted in the score by an alternate source of hope from Howard. A
theme seemingly for the players and the empathy involved in their
suffering is constructed out of three-note phrases. Friendly throughout
"Dr. Bennet Testifies" on acoustic guitar, keyboards, and solo woodwind,
this idea develops its secondary lines on full strings in the cue. More
determined early in "Jacked Up" and driving its increasingly urgent
rhythms, the player theme is faint at the start of "The Head as a
Weapon" and uses vaguely heroic tones with solo trumpet throughout "We
Used to be Warriors." It shifts to a more fluid form on piano in the
latter half of "Bennet's Decision" and concludes at 0:41 into
"Concussion End Titles" on fluid piano and then strings for a very
pleasant close to the work. Listeners most experienced with Howard's
more powerful urban drama scores will find the third theme to be the
most familiar. Representing the importance of the topic as a whole, this
identity of intended gravity utilizes an serious, ascending presence in
both the melodic line and its bass chords. Heard at 1:16 into
"Concussion" and becoming almost militaristic in the latter half of the
cue, this melody previews the conspiracy theme in
Fantastic Beasts
and Where to Find Them here. It explodes in the last minute of
"Jacked Up" with extreme ensemble and synth hype before fading out on
strings at the end of the cue. The importance theme takes a thoughtful
approach to the start of "Published - Marry Me," builds strength on
strings in the middle of "Tell the Truth," and is slight at the outsets
of "I am Offended" and "Hello Little One." It's turned into a rhythmic
crescendo of heightened anticipation in "News Conference" and starts "Be
at Peace" with more positive lines before regaining its gravity on
strings at 2:50. The idea translates into a charming piano rhythm in
"Bennet's Decision," and that personality shift carries over to the
start of "Concussion End Titles." None of these themes is lastingly
attractive, and the middle of the work contains way too much dead space
to sustain a 61-minute presentation on album. The long "Published -
Marry Me" cue is a notably wasted opportunity for thematic development.
But the whole serves its purpose well, and the opening and closing
tracks are appreciably tonal and sincere. Had Howard maintained that
appeal throughout, a four-star score would have resulted.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For James Newton Howard reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.28
(in 78 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.29
(in 87,039 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert includes a list of performers but no extra
information about the score or film.
