Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,923
Written 2/7/12
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Buy it... only if you fully understand the reasons why Carter
Burwell expresses such sadness and respect in this occasionally warm but
depressing and highly restrained score.
Avoid it... if you have no tolerance for scores that intentionally
leave their melodic structures unresolved and their instrumental layers
in slight discord, both techniques meant to accentuate the feeling of
loss in this intimate story.
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| Burwell |
Gods and Monsters: (Carter Burwell) There had long
been lingering questions about the end of filmmaker James Whale's life
in 1957, speculation ranging from an accident to a homicide, but it was
eventually revealed that the creator of Frankenstein and Bride
of Frankenstein committed suicide by drowning in his swimming pool.
After his successful career was proven over in the 1950's, a series of
strokes, depression spurred by traumatic events in his life, and turmoil
caused by his homosexuality all combined to encourage him towards this
unfortunate end. The 1998 film Gods and Monsters adapts
Christopher Bram's novel, "Father of Frankenstein," in an effort to
flesh out a partly fictional, partly non-fictional account of Whales'
final encounters. Ian McKellen plays Whales in decline, the trials of
his life told through flashbacks, while Lynn Redgrave remains his loyal
maid, and both of these performers were nominated for Academy Awards for
their portrayals. Whales' homosexuality becomes an issue once again in
his waning days when he befriends the gardener of his estate, a former
soldier and a straight man played by Brendan Fraser. Their relationship
is the focus of the film's action in the present, the younger man used
to soften the blow of the older man's destruction. Aside from the strong
acting and script, several loyal recreations of Whales' movies are the
highlights of Gods and Monsters. Still, the film was destined to
be one that appeals to an art house crowd, and ignoring the awards
recognition and immense critical acclaim were audiences, who did not
assist the production in recouping its costs. Director Bill Condon had
been impressed with Carter Burwell's music for the Coen Brothers' films
and wagered that the composer's trademark mannerisms for gloomy yet
optimistic drama, symbolized by Fargo, would be a good fit for
Gods and Monsters. Despite his recent mainstream success, Burwell
accepted the assignment and was instructed by Condon to follow the lead
set by the music of Franz Waxman for the famous Whales films.
Specifically, that meant a sense of restraint, mystery, anticipation,
and, most importantly, a lack of resolution. Burwell accomplished this
directive surprisingly well, leading to a collaboration with Condon that
would pave the way for the composer's return to the Twilight
franchise in 2011. In the interim, Burwell wrote Being John
Malkovich, considered by many of his collectors to be the stylistic
sister score to Gods and Monsters.
As you might expect, there is little outwardly pleasant
about Burwell's approach to
Gods and Monsters. The score's most
obvious characteristic is its limited instrumental depth, yielding vital
intimacy and a hint of yesteryear. Burwell employed a very small
orchestra consisting of strings, woodwinds, piano, and minimal
percussion, though the recording doesn't necessarily exude a chamber
sound in all parts. The flashback sequences receive the broadest
performances by the full group, though the most poignant passages often
contain a choice percussive effect over the smaller scope of the
character themes. The players are typically confined to their lowest
registers in usual brooding fashion for Burwell. While none of the
melodic identities in
Gods and Monsters is spectacularly
memorable, Burwell's application of those ideas is truly masterful. His
career sound has been defined by a tendency to challenge listeners with
awkward harmonic scales and meters, series of broken chords perhaps his
biggest trademark. The meters aren't difficult in this circumstance; in
fact, the choice of waltz movements actually produces a smoother
listening experience than normal for the composer. But the use of
troubled harmonies and unresolved melodic lines is what really makes
this score work, comforting and agonizing at the same time, never
allowing its themes to finish on key (even after death). The difference
between the two themes in
Gods and Monsters is pivotal, the
younger man afforded an optimistic (but still extremely restrained) idea
for rising phrases, as heard best in "Arise, Clay." Meanwhile, Whales is
handled with the uniquely charming but defeated waltz, developed with
extreme care throughout the score. The transformation of this descending
theme is key to this music's functionality, beginning with faint echoes
in "Dripping" and accompanying the character through his flashbacks in
romantic, melodramatic mode. But the final two cues are the kickers in
Gods and Monsters, "Last Swim" using literally a slowing
heartbeat on piano octaves to punctuate the introduction to the theme on
solo violin. Arguably the highlight of the score is its most hopeful
cue, a coda in "Friend?" that lovingly pays tribute to Whales' theme in
the future as the younger man explains his friendship with the director
to his son while watching the old
Frankenstein movies. Even in
this final expression of gratitude to Whales, Burwell doesn't allow the
theme to resolve, leaving the score and album on a wanting note.
Overall, there is no doubt that
Gods and Monsters is not the
easiest of album experiences, even at a scant 34 minutes in length, but
it's an accomplished, incredibly subtle success in its fleetingly warm
reflection of respect and sadness.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check:
For Carter Burwell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 19 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.82
(in 11,705 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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