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| Elfman |
Extreme Measures: (Danny Elfman) One of many in a
long line of philosophical medical thrillers is Michael Apted's
Extreme Measures, a chase story that examines the boundaries of
acceptable practices in the realm of medical experimentation. A young,
affable, and idealistic doctor with a successful career accidentally
stumbles upon a massive conspiracy by his colleagues to use homeless
people to test radical therapies meant to cure paralyzed patients. In
this underground complex, the homeless die from the tests despite
promise in the medicine, and a final confrontation between the director
of this experiment and the young doctor (now on the run after his life
is ruined and nearly ended due to his own investigation about the dead
homeless people) leads to thought-provoking fireworks. Though somewhat
generic in that plot, this particular film supplies intrigue through the
casting of Hugh Grant as the outgunned doctor to counter Gene Hackman in
one of his stereotypical roles of abused power. Decent reviews did not
translate into lasting popular success for
Extreme Measures,
however, and the moral issues at its heart have been explored further in
several films since. The project is one of the least known mainstream
efforts of composer Danny Elfman in the 1990's, whose career had taken a
dramatic shift away from his collaboration with Tim Burton at the time.
Gone were the days of melodramatic majesty of a gloriously harmonic
nature, replaced by Elfman's desire to branch out into more serious
topics while alternatively dabbling back into the electronic realm from
which he originated. There is no doubt that 1995 and 1996 were
disconcerting years for fans of the composer who were enamored with his
production in previous years. The low-key dramas in particular, led by
Dolores Claiborne and
Extreme Measures at the outset, were
largely devoid of the elements in Elfman's earliest works that
originally drew attention to him. His basic mannerisms and orchestral
techniques were still usually evident in these scores, though
Extreme
Measures is perhaps the most blatant exception. Of all of Elfman's
mostly orchestral scores of this era, this one is arguably the least
recognizable as belong to his cannon. It is ultimately a rather mundane
thriller score that actually plays much closer to a typical James Newton
Howard effort for the same genre. Not even a faint hint of the
composer's creatively quirky sensibilities (or lively instrumentation)
can be heard in this music until a brief burst of percussion in the
closing credits.
You have to be disappointed anytime you hear Elfman
playing it safe for a streamlined assignment, regardless of the
effectiveness of the music. A workmanlike score for
Extreme
Measures is sufficient in context, but it sounds as though Elfman
began with
Dolores Claiborne as a template for its contemplative
stewing and simply elevated the volume. Much like that score from the
previous year, this one will leave you with little more than an
impression of faint dramatic gravity or perhaps a portion of the main
theme's four-note progressions. That theme shows more promise than
anything in
Dolores Claiborne, however, those four-note phrases
slowly descending like the sinking feeling the main character in this
story feels as control over his life is slipping away. Elfman's loyalty
to its development throughout the score is admirable, with piano solos
exploring its compelling phrases in most of the score's major cues. In
"Main Title" and "Epilogue," Elfman layers strings with brass backing
over the piano to give the theme an impressively powerful identity. Solo
violin accents in these cues are noteworthy. Outside of these
statements, the score is remarkably similar in tone and instrumentation
to
Dolores Claiborne, from the use of piano in low ranges and
slight, vague vocal color at times to the explosive interruption of the
listening experience by two action cues. In "The Descent" and "Elevator
Madness," Elfman tingles the senses with a plethora of plucked and
struck lines of activity, the latter using some of the same disjointed
brass techniques as the former score's eclipse sequence. The "End
Credits" features the most cohesive burst of activity that seems as
brief as it is misguided, though it is easily the creative highlight of
the score. A wild collection of percussion reminds of Elfman's tone for
the Joker in
Batman, and his banging of xylophones, triangles,
and cowbells is a keen way to represent a haywire experiment on one's
spine. Unfortunately, this lively activity concludes as quickly as it
began, returning the score to another plaintive performance of the title
theme. The moments before the "Epilogue / End Credits" combo in
Extreme Measures are unfortunately lacking in any of the same
personality, leaving this one cue as a decent candidate for your
compilations of the composer's works. Some of the dullness plaguing the
mass of the underscore is perhaps due to a questionably flat mix of the
recording, de-emphasizing Elfman's insertion of electronic elements.
While some fans have complained about the 29-minute score-only album, a
longer product would likely have only exacerbated the failure of this
music to truly engage the listener.
** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.16
(in 89 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.27
(in 153,897 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
