Filmtracks: Death on the Nile (Patrick Doyle)

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Written 2/20/22

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Buy it... if you desire a continuation of Patrick Doyle's impressive, lyrical quality from Murder on the Orient Express even if none of that score's themes carries over.

Avoid it... if you struggle to remain engaged with Doyle's often understated suspense mode, for only about half of this work flourishes with the exotic and classical melodicism that defines its more attractive themes.

Doyle

Death on the Nile: (Patrick Doyle) Based on the story considered by some to be author Agatha Christie's best murder mystery novel, 2022's Death on the Nile is the cinematic sequel to actor and director Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express from 2017. It marks the return of Hercule Poirot to the scene of yet another 1930's killing, this time aboard a lavish cruise ship on the Nile River. A complicated set of murders and thefts on the boat forces Poirot into his cool, calculated investigation mode that inevitably leads, once again, to all the suspects collected into a bar while he unravels the story for the benefit of the audience. The cast of the bloodier Death on the Nile is markedly inferior to that of Murder on the Orient Express, and the special effects depicting the Egyptian settings in the 2022 film were soundly criticized, their inauthenticity disappointing for a film delayed so long in post-production because of the global pandemic. But Branagh is sharp, the return of his character's friend from the prior film a nice touch, and the glistening sets offering glamour in excess. Additional background is afforded the Poirot character as well, both his love interests and famous moustache explored. The movie ultimately offers more than it delivers, but it does provide another Patrick Doyle score for Branagh in the genre. Doyle's work for Murder on the Orient Express was a sleeper success in its year, with lyricism and a frightfully depressing but evocative song by the composer pushing it to compete favorably with the best soundtracks of the year. For Death on the Nile, the basic formula for the original music is the same, though Doyle did not have the opportunity to tailor the on-screen song presence directly into his score. The incorporation of a jazz performer into the character ensemble led the film to utilize classic tunes by Sister Rosetta Tharpe instead, which works for the setting but remains disconnected from Doyle's work. The composer instead turns to the straight dramatic realm for his sequel score, recollecting many of the same instrumental elements from the prior score but adding a few twists for the Egyptian location.

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While not spectacular in the end, Doyle's score for Death on the Nile smartly suits the film and presents his typical thoughtfulness in ways that yield a satisfying narrative and a few impressive dramatic highlights. Dominated by strings, the work features trademark flourishes of solo piano and brass in support for beefier sections. Woodwinds are relatively marginalized until the final portions, though Doyle does retrieve some of the exoticism from the prior score, mainly in the form of the duduk and cimbalom. He tends to underplay the locale in these soundtracks, maintaining a more classical stance rather than truly revel in the exotic elements. This technique means that the duduk, while critical to the middle third of the score, is never placed too far forward in the mix. The most impressive addition to the soundscape is the choral element for Egypt, ranging from brutal male chanting to eerie ambient depth. The vocals are well placed with the instrumental players, and the recording is lively in its fuller passages. Doyle respects the character of Murder on the Orient Express without actually carrying over a single theme, his harmonies and structures often similar enough to make stylistic connections. Like the 2017 score, he assembles a handful of themes and develops them fairly well throughout the narrative, placing the most obvious ensemble highlights at the beginning and end, stewing in suspense in between. This means that, aside from the lack of closing credits song, the two listening experiences on album follow the same path. In the case of Death on the Nile, Doyle does underplay the impact of his music in sequences of revelatory suspense from "Was Someone Hurt?" to "I Needed Him," slowing the album experience considerably in this ten minutes of ambient music. But Doyle's themes, though not all as memorable as the primary identity, function remarkably well at their task even here. More so than the last score, Death on the Nile deconstructs the trio of themes so that they are derivatives of each other and, when mystery starts to set in, each of them is conveyed frequently in fragments that get cut off before their notes of resolution, suggesting the investigation in progress. While not always as satisfying on album, these anticipatory applications serve the story well.

The main theme of Death on the Nile accomplishes two tasks, replacing the identity thought to represent Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express and also tending to the location in the sequel. It consists of a series of two descending notes with an ascending third note in different harmonies that are vaguely Egyptian in spirit and slightly intoxicating, typically conveyed in minor mode. This theme loses its resolving chords in the middle section of the score for the aforementioned element of mystery, leaving the two descending notes to the bleed into other identities. The theme is introduced in quiet anticipation throughout "What About This?" but becomes majestic in scope during "The Pyramids," with the ascending third note taking command. Doyle adds extra notes in the phrasing here, and gong hits and timpani allow for more pomposity. He switches to the major key at 1:52 for a sense of false resolution in the theme. After all, the cruise is to be one of magnificence. The theme simmers with subtle, exotic tones at the outset of "A Single Bullet," shifting to ominous piano later. It returns at 0:11 into "Immortal Longings" in echoes of the grandeur of "The Pyramids" and opens "Abu Simbel" softly. The first two notes of the theme rhythmically open "Come with Me" on romantic acoustic guitar and then duduk, the third note never prevailing in the cue. Those first two notes persist alone in the middle of "Suspects" and first half of "Goodnight Jacks" before the full theme finally returns at 0:07 into "Alibi" in deeply morbid tones. A variation with additional notes occupies "Let Poirot Work," while a brief moment of sad compassion interjects at 1:12 into "Was Someone Hurt?" The theme regains its more majestic form in "Perhaps," opening that cue on whimsical strings and revisited by the full ensemble at 2:20. It opens the "Death on the Nile" suite respectfully and wraps that track at 3:58 with nice stature. Don't look for this theme to be overwhelming in the experience, but its repetitive phrasing is catchy enough to persist in memory, and it's among the more tasteful applications of Egyptian musical stereotypes of its era. The theme does have a notable secondary melody worth mentioning, a series of mysteriously rising phrases on strings, shifting constantly between minor and major modes. You hear this impressive sequence at 0:50 into "The Pyramids," at the outset of "Immortal Longings," and as the basis for the frantic rhythms early in "Inheritance."

Almost referenced with the same frequency in Death on the Nile is Doyle's conspiracy theme, which conveniently shares the first two notes with the main theme but toils in darker territory thereafter. This idea is introduced elegantly on strings and piano at 0:09 into "She's Back" and beyond, opening "Goodnight Jacks" and featured on bass strings at 0:46 and duduk at 2:10 in that cue. It's hinted throughout the slightly exotic, rambling rhythms early in "Someone is Dead" and consolidates on duduk at 0:57 into the full motif over nervous plucking. The motif takes over the latter half of "Inheritance" and starts to disintegrate in the first minute of "You Killed Them," Doyle intentionally stuttering the theme so that it is incomplete. Later in that cue, the theme is reconstituted at 1:24 on low strings and becomes dramatic at 2:40 over thumping and rattling percussion. Dissonant fragments of the conspiracy theme occupy the latter half of "One Final Interview," and vague string references lead to pieces of the melody on solo piano in "Was Someone Hurt?" In these tense scenes, the theme maintains a slight stance at 1:33 into "I Wasn't Thinking" and the opening of "I Needed Him." It figures at 1:24 into "Death on the Nile" with greater woodwind emphasis and mixes in the main theme's chords to a greater degree. Doyle's romance theme rounds out the score, the upbeat swirling of "The Newly Weds" the closest this work comes to the loftier traveling portions of the prior score. Its semblances open "The Pyramids" and recur at 0:49 into "Immortal Longings," in hints at the start of "Come With Me," and in soft tragedy during the middle of "Perhaps." It keenly steals progressions from the suspense motif for a lovely romantic variant in "The Cost of Love" and bursts with sudden exuberance at 2:27 into "Death on the Nile." Singular cues of note include the anonymous action rhythm pounding in "The Trenches" for Poirot 's flashback, the pretentious, classical piano and violin for "Bourgeois Nightmare," and the menacing, deep male chanting for the location of "Abu Simbel," a sibling to similar material in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The solo piano tune in "One Last Cork" exhibits shades of the Armstrong family theme from the predecessor, which is intriguing. While dragging at times on album, Death on the Nile retains its narrative strength and presents more than enough Doyle lyricism to recommend. The main and romance themes are engaging and sound fantastic, and thirty minutes of this material can be combined with Murder on the Orient Express for a resounding presentation of Doyle drama. **** @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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For Patrick Doyle reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.84 (in 32 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.45 (in 26,392 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

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