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Review of Hillbilly Elegy (Hans Zimmer/David Fleming)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you value the intimate personality of Hans Zimmer's early career dramas, Hillbilly Elegy a somber but motivational atmosphere for its tonally satisfying themes.

Avoid it... if you have no interest in hearing a slide guitar substitute for Zimmer's usual electric cello, the slight regional flavor offering more twang than some of the composer's listeners might accept.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Hillbilly Elegy: (Hans Zimmer/David Fleming) If you want to start a political argument amongst your well-read social group, then mention J.D. Vance's 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy." The best-seller tells of his youth in Ohio and Kentucky, escaping the impoverishment and other ills of Appalachia that caused significant family trauma. The examination of that American population was polarizing long before Ron Howard decided to put a Hollywood spin on Vance's story. Of course, whatever goodwill earned by Vance was squandered when he announced during a later political campaign that he opposes same-sex marriages, compared abortion and slavery, wants to ban pornography, and insisted that parents should stay in unhappy and violent marriages for the sake of their children. None of this must have pleased the liberals that made the 2020 adaptation of Vance's book, but Hillbilly Elegy ultimately earned a spattering of respect from critics and awards bodies, particularly for Glenn Close's supporting performance. Vance's story is generally underwhelming, the hype about the subject matter not attracting as much recognition for the film as expected, especially after it was moved from a theatrical release to a streaming one due to the pandemic. Those hiccups extended to the post-production of the movie as well, Hans Zimmer originally slated to provide the bulk of the music for Hillbilly Elegy but ultimately having to rely on one of his Remote Control Productions assistants, David Fleming, after Zimmer contracted the virus himself and was left ill for a prolonged time. Fleming had provided additional music and arrangements to several Zimmer scores as well as works by other Remote Control graduates. Zimmer's involvement represented the ninth collaboration with Howard on a film, the resulting scores among the composer's more inspired during that period. He still managed to write some material for Hillbilly Elegy, program his synthesizers, and produce the collection of soloists assembled for a relatively early pandemic recording, but a fair amount of this music was fleshed out by Fleming. The final product is more cerebral than some listeners might desire from Zimmer, but it does represent an intriguing return to his late 1980's and early 1990's roots in tone and style.

Tackling the location of the story of Hillbilly Elegy proved to be the biggest strategic hurdle for the score. While Howard enquired about more stereotypical aspects of Appalachian music, such as the banjo, Zimmer was adamant that there be no connection whatsoever to anything remotely sounding like Deliverance. Instead, he and Fleming recommended providing a universal dramatic sound that could function for most rural American locations, with a tinge of country-western accents around the edges to subtly place the picture in the specific context. The work, therefore, is built upon a foundation of synthetic keyboarding and string section (it doesn't really matter in this work if the ensemble strings are real or not), joined by electric and acoustic guitars, double bass, cello, violin, and sparse contributions by single French horn and woodwind performers. A few vintage, 1980's sound effects from Zimmer return nicely, too. The highlight of the group is Derek Trucks on slide guitar, however, the instrument providing, along with the violin in fiddle duties, the element of locality in tastefully restrained doses. Key to these performances is a superb mix of the group, as the relatively small ensemble provides ample depth and resonance, aided by a wet, dreamy environment that alternates between the surreal and the empathetic. The only exception to this smooth atmosphere is what sounds like a foot tapping effect in the middle of "Old Wounds" that comes in loudly enough to surprise the listener. Some may also find the menacing electric guitar rhythms of "Suffocating" and adjoining string distortion to be distracting as well. Otherwise, though, Hillbilly Elegy is an extremely digestible experience in restraint, the composer dutifully developing the work's two main themes while rarely losing the oddly suppressed but still inspirational tone of the whole. One of the themes represents the story in totality while the other seems attached to the concept of perseverance specifically as it relates to Vance's family. Both ideas are provided ample development. The main theme is a bit deceptive in that Zimmer and Fleming deconstruct it frequently, possibly to recognize the struggles of the characters on screen. Its opening two-note phrase occasionally meanders into repetition in different chords rather than completing the formal phrasing in its fullest performances. An underlying four-note rhythm sometimes joins this idea, as at 4:04 into "Transformation (End Titles)."

The main theme of Hillbilly Elegy dominates the "Transformation (End Titles)" cue that opens the brief album presentation. It debuts at 0:41 into that cue on solo violin over piano, additional layers added nicely for renditions at 1:28 and 2:07 and heightened rhythmic backing at 3:12 for the biggest performance of the shorter, two-note phrase version of the idea. It returns at 0:57 into "Rust" on cello over rollicking rhythm and joined elegantly by slide guitar; a really good secondary sequence for the theme is highlighted in the middle of this cue. Solemn on solo violin at the start of "We Respect Our Dead," the main theme recurs on cello at 1:07 with really fine performance emphasis, yielding to flashes of the repeated two-note phrasing late. A deconstructed rendition at the outset of "Bev" on piano for a broken soul also devolves to the repeated two-note phrasing, forming plucked, tonal chords in the middle of the cue. Those two-note phrases alone meander through the first half of "Old Wounds" before the full theme returns to form at 0:26 into "Responsibility" on plucked guitar, moving to enticing slide guitar over more developed, rhythmic acoustic guitars. A notable performance of the theme's secondary sequence on cello at 0:59 is a highlight, as is the major reprise of the theme in full at 3:08 after a break. The perseverance theme consists of ascending phrasing with an opening five-note figure, hinted at 4:28 into "Transformation (End Titles)" but pleasantly revealed at 1:24 into "Kentucky 1997" on specialty colors, with string depth for the melody at 2:18. It shows glimmers of hope in "Resignation" and shifts to a simplified version throughout the feel-good ambience of "Usha" on keyboards, attractive guitar and string layers beneath. The composers' development of the perseverance theme pays off in "Steel in Our Veins," where it opens the cue in full form on violin over fleeting string rhythm. Its impressive secondary phrases are finally explored to potential in the second minute, and the rhythmic optimism in the middle of the cue previews "Transformation (End Titles)." As a positive conclusion, "Steel in Our Veins" closes with a long, redemptive crescendo for the theme, highlighted by restrained but stylish guitar counterpoint. Four or five cues in Hillbilly Elegy offer this kind of rhythmically melodic, easily tonal material at length, and they together make the score an easy listening experience. The slide guitar is a clear winner in the score, sounding like Zimmer's trademark electric cello at some pitches. While the score can generate a somewhat somber mood at times, its accessible personality reminds of Zimmer's early years of dramatic success.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 42:01

• 1. Transformation (End Titles) (4:57) • 2. Rust (2:45) • 3. Kentucky 1997 (2:45) • 4. We Respect Our Dead (2:44) • 5. Suffocating (4:51) • 6. Bev (3:30) • 7. Resignation (2:01) • 8. Old Wounds (5:44) • 9. Responsibility (5:05) • 10. Usha (3:04) • 11. Steel in Our Veins (4:35)

NOTES & QUOTES:

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