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Written 2/3/12
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Buy it... if you doubt Alexandre Desplat's capabilities in the
mainstream suspense and action genres, Hostage remaining one of
the most impressive expressions of overachieving lyrical complexity in
an undeserving context of senseless death.
Avoid it... if you have never much cared for John Ottman's early
melodic grace and instrumental creativity in the same genre, for
Desplat's work here sounds in many regards like his own interpretation
of the same approach towards intrigue and executions.
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| Desplat |
Hostage: (Alexandre Desplat) When the stylish
shooting techniques of Florent Emilio Siri caught actor and producer
Bruce Willis' attention, the French director was asked to helm the 2005
thriller Hostage, one of many attempts by Willis to recapture his
leading status in the genre. The convoluted plot of the movie involves
the dual hostage takings of an American money launderer and his family
at the same time those with an interest in the first target's database
of information take hostage the family of the primary hostage negotiator
at the first scene. Willis plays that lead role, attempting to end the
standoff in front of him in a way that secures the victim's information
as to satisfy those threatening his own family. He eventually has to
rely upon both the kidnappers and the victims in the first scenario to
walk through a maze of plot twists to earn the release of his loved
ones, and there's a fair amount of betrayals and convoluted motives
along the way. One certainty about Hostage that led to its tepid
response by critics and audiences was its body count, the amount and
forms of executions in the film representing a display of the kind of
societal decay that conservative politicians in America use to whip up
votes from fearful old people who believe that the country is going to
hell. While there was some praise for the director's flashy, almost art
house form of conveying the action scenes, not much love was extended to
Hostage from any group, the film failing to gross enough
worldwide to be considered a financial success. Doing his best to
compensate for the film's ills was composer Alexandre Desplat, another
French connection with the production and a man who was finally
beginning to break into the mainstream international film scoring scene
after toiling with obscure projects in his native country since the
1990's. Throughout the 2000's, he increasingly became known for his
complicated compositional structures and unconventional instrumental
applications, often lending complex music to films that did not require
such depth of thought. Definitely among these projects is
Hostage, which, along with the inferior Firewell the
following year, stands as a somewhat rare representation of Desplat's
large-scale suspense and killing mode. Some film music collectors have
long held a belief that Desplat's style isn't well equipped to handle
massively tonal action, and while The Golden Compass and Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 should dispel that myth, you
can go back as far as Hostage to really encounter what many of
his enthusiasts will cite as his most superior music in the genre.
There are a number of aspects of
Hostage that
will impress, led by the combination of interesting instrumental layers,
generally tonal approach, and a collection of several lyrical themes
that are developed extensively in the work. The instrumentation and its
somewhat devious personality, especially when expressed in tonal methods
during most of the score, is reminiscent of John Ottman's entertaining
The Usual Suspects, though more obvious of an influence on the
score is the quivering strings of Bernard Herrmann in the suspense cues.
Aiding the orchestra is a variety of soloists that provide a sonic
coloration that is almost bizarre given the film's plot, but at least
enjoyable on album. Some electronic elements, including guitar and
thumping bass effects, function well in this score, especially the
tastefully restrained but still brash guitars. A solo recorder adds
elegance to a character theme while harpsichord-like strokes and piano
tickle the ears. The vocals of
Hostage are particularly striking,
ensemble choral tones occasionally applied but the solo performances of
Desplat's own daughter lending a sense of innocence to the main theme.
That primary identity is appropriately titled "Child's Spirit" on the
album for the score, bookending the product with the solo vocal
renditions of mystery and intrigue. The theme is extended into the score
in "Hostage," "The House," and "FBI," the melody passed to the orchestra
in those statements. The quantity of secondary themes is impressive,
though none makes a significant impact. The most obvious suspense motif
is a rising four-note identity that invades the action material quickly,
joined later by a variation in "Drive." Somewhat muted are the
progressions for the themes for Willis' lead and the main hostage-taker,
Mars, though these melodies do appear in fragmented form later in the
work (the former resolves nicely in "Talley's Family"). A singular
subtheme of note is for one of the children taken hostage, and this
recorder idea in "Tommy's Theme" and "The Secret Place" is so lyrically
pretty that it almost sounds out of place. Most listeners will return to
the main "Child's Spirit" theme heard five times in full during the
score, another reminder of the slightly sinister but yearning tones of
similar Ottman music. Quite remarkably, Desplat manages to keep his
music engaging at all times, producing surprising muscularity in the
highlights. The brass and string counterpoint figures late in "Hostage"
are particularly enjoyable. Still, on the whole,
Hostage sounds
like a score of fantastic ideas thrown together in a tasty stew that
never really solidifies into a fluid narrative. Perhaps due to the
relative anonymity of the secondary motifs, Desplat's work is one to
appreciate for its parts rather than the emotional journey of its whole.
For his collectors, it's another highly recommended display of
overachievement.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Alexandre Desplat reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.41
(in 32 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.22
(in 16,610 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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