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Review of Gods and Monsters (Carter Burwell)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

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.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

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.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 33:35

• 1. Arise, Clay (2:34) • 2. Dripping (1:20) • 3. Ashes (1:15) • 4. Refreshments (1:02) • 5. Unshrouding (1:28) • 6. Love in the Trenches (2:35) • 7. The Bride (0:26) • 8. Lucky Man (0:34) • 9. Watch Me Dive (3:18)

• 10. Gas Masks On (0:30) • 11. Frankenwhale (1:54) • 12. Soldier in the Rain (0:46) • 13. Barnett on the Wire (4:24) • 14. Return to the Trenches (1:25) • 15. Wrestling the Monster (4:27) • 16. Last Swim (2:50) • 17. Friend? (2:00)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a long note from the director about the film and score, as well as a shorter one from the producers.

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