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Review of A Dog's Journey (Mark Isham)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you like being pleasantly surprised by Mark Isham's
capacity for warmth when writing lightly dramatic orchestral music for
lovable animal films.
Avoid it... if you expect more than just a few brief renditions of Rachel Portman's main theme from the prior film, the musical narrative in the sequel not quite as cohesive.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
A Dog's Journey: (Mark Isham) Because there cannot
be enough happy dog stories, W. Bruce Cameron's career has flourished,
and 2019 witnessed two of his novels adapted to films. One of these was
A Dog's Journey, the follow-up to 2017's A Dog's Purpose,
extending the storyline of the previous tale with the same characters
and reincarnated canine soul. Primarily known from its lifetime as
Bailey, the soul is tied more specifically to the main family shown in
the prior film, several dogs in succession looking after the
granddaughter of the lead romantic duo from before. That teenage girl,
CJ, and her boyfriend, Trent, wind their way through contemporary
troubles, including abusive relationships and tragedy, to their own
happy ending that invariably involves dogs inhabited by Bailey's soul.
The movie is a weepfest by the end, the original lead, Ethan, reuniting
with the soul when the apparent last of the dog lives concludes
peacefully at the end of this story. Josh Gad continues his narration
all the way through the dog's soul passing over the mythical rainbow
bridge for the reunion. These films are sappy fluff, but audiences love
them, and A Dog's Journey performed as well as its sibling movie,
A Dog's Way Home, that year, yielding grudging respect from
critics and zero serious recognition from awards. The project
represented the film debut for "Modern Family" director Gail Mancuso,
and with the shifting of the crew came a new composer for the
soundtrack. Rachel Portman's music for A Dog's Purpose was
affably pretty, a lightly Western-styled variation on her standard
romantic mode with a few diversions for specific action scenes and
mid-story lifecycles. Hired for the sequel is Mark Isham, who is not
known for his romantic tendencies in his film music but who has had a
history of writing fantastic music for animal-related children's movies
and light dramas. He contends with extensive song usage in A Dog's
Journey, highlighted by one entry, "Fearless," applied as source for
actress Kathryn Prescott to perform in character on screen. A pop
version of this song is included with the score on a soundtrack album
otherwise dedicated solely to the latter.
The general demeanor of Isham's approach to A Dog's Journey is highly familiar to Portman's. A smooth orchestral approach is joined by piano and woodwind solos for hearty sentimentality, joined by an abundance of acoustic guitar and occasional electric guitar, electric bass, and synthetic keyboarding. Isham doesn't stray into other genres like funk and rock the way Portman did, opting for a more streamlined sound that may make sense given that this story doesn't throw the canine soul into such disparate lifestyles and locations. The Western aspect is also downplayed to an extent, the homeliness of this work a little more anonymous. One significant addition to the equation, however, is Isham's application of a solo female voice to represent the supernatural reincarnation element, and the film uses these performances as an extension of the main character's own singing by the end. While the more consistent personality of the Isham score may appeal to some listeners, he doesn't apply themes with the same emotional power as Portman does, and this remains the biggest difference between the two scores. Thankfully, Portman's main theme for Bailey and his relationship with Ethan carries over to A Dog's Journey, where it is solidified as representing that particular loyalty rather than the dog's soul itself. Isham sometimes abbreviates Portman's theme, but its descending phrasing is still easily recognizable in shortened form. The idea opens "The Football" on clarinet and becomes exuberant in "A Lump" on piano but dissolves to anonymously somber clarinet figures. The theme is not handled with particular satisfaction as Bailey perishes, not clearly enough enunciated in "Goodbye Bailey/Hello Molly" to suffice. On the other hand, the references teased at the start of "Molly and Ethan" and consolidating quietly later in the cue are highly effective as a wink and nod to the recognition between the characters. Near the end of the story, the theme returns slightly at 0:48 into "Max is Molly" on clarinet but otherwise saves its impact for the reunion in heaven at 3:59 into "A Dog's Journey/A Dog's Purpose." This performance largely reprises Portman's original arrangement and carries over to the end credits, which then switch to various Isham score cues for its remaining running time. Isham's new themes for A Dog's Journey struggle to maintain consistency and memorability, the composer seemingly more content to casually explore random offshoots of similar harmonies. His theme for the concept of home uses rising, six-note phrases in cyclical formation to suggest reincarnation. It's heard at 0:56 into "A Dog's Journey - Main Title" on piano, including hopeful secondary phrases, but disappears until 0:43 into "CJ Goes Home" with extremely optimistic rhythmic force, the middle of "Grandparents" on piano, and 1:32 into "Max is Molly" on friendly, redemptive tones that remind of Fly Away Home wholesomeness. More obvious but simplistic is Isham's theme for reincarnation, which applies descending phrases on a solo female voice as the dogs are shown running through fields between lives. It's used without any significant deviation at 1:34 into "Goodbye Bailey/Hello Molly," 1:57 into "Goodbye Molly/Hello Big Dog," 2:09 into "Goodbye Big Dog/Hello Max" with a little more brevity, and 2:33 into "A Dog's Journey/A Dog's Purpose," where the album track does not include the on-screen vocals of CJ harmonized to the cue. Otherwise, Isham's themes aren't overly obvious. There is what seems like a melody associated with the Molly incarnation of the soul, a descending synthetic wind phrase in "Hello Molly" developing into a fuller identity at the end of "CJ and Trent Plan" and start of "Puppy School" with contemporary excitement. A very faint echo of this idea recurs on piano for the death scene in "Goodbye Molly/Hello Big Dog," with progressions and piano that are highly reminiscent of James Horner's techniques. Even more unique thematic usage prevails in the second half of the score, such as the fully orchestral quasi-freedom theme at 0:08 into "Cancer Free." Another strong idea closes out "Max is Molly" without obvious connection to the rest of the score. One last impressive but singular theme is massively ascendant at 2:57 into "A Dog's Journey/A Dog's Purpose" for the final running sequence over the rainbow bridge. These moments in A Dog's Journey are all appealing, many of them offering Isham at his most dramatically symphonic, but they don't wrap the narrative quite as nicely as Portman did for the prior film. None of the new themes is as attractive as her love theme, either, and that does not return. The two scores are comfortable companions perfect for shared appreciation, but Portman's music remains the better standalone work. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
All Albums:
Total Time: 61:19
* Performed by Abby Anderson
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the CD includes no extra information about the score or film.
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