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Review of Incognito (John Ottman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you seek one of the most rhythmically and
instrumentally creative scores of the digital era, a devious highlight
of John Ottman's composing career.
Avoid it... if you are easily overwhelmed by culturally clashing and wildly percussive scores that dazzle you with their fiendishly executed diversity of sound.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Incognito: (John Ottman) This 1997 flop is one of
those examples of a movie concept that should have achieved cult status
but instead failed miserably at the box office and thereafter, making
you sit and contemplate where it all went wrong. The concept of
Incognito involves Jason Patric as one of the world's foremost
forgers of classic paintings. When he decides to paint one last
Rembrandt and pass it off as real so that he can retire on the earnings,
he gets caught up in the murder mystery surrounding the potential buyer
of the painting. He has to prove his innocence by painting a Rembrandt
in court, leading to one of the more interesting trial scenes ever put
on film. There's also a fair amount of obligatory chasing in the film as
well, joined by a meager love interest that becomes intertwined in the
intrigue. Ultimately, the lengthy scene of the painter's creation of a
Rembrandt is the clear highlight, and it's a passage driven mostly by
the propulsion of its precisely synchronized music. The task of scoring
the project for rising talent John Ottman was one of infinite
possibilities, and he took advantage of every last drop of creative
energy in his system to write one of the most truly standalone scores in
the digital era. The 1990's were known as the era of Ottman's most
original works, with works like Incognito waiting as hidden gems
for fans only familiar with his superhero scores of the 2000's. Some
collectors of the composer's works still consider the score to be among
Ottman's very best achievements, the pinnacle of his longtime
collaborations with orchestrators and conductors Larry Groupé and
Damon Intrabartolo. It's difficult to argue with that assessment, for
Incognito defined Ottman's early success with its wicked, deviant
sense of style, a robust flair of personality that the composer never
managed to fully rediscover in the subsequent decade prior to
concentrating on his editing career instead. It's a score that proves
that less can indeed be more, for Ottman's ensemble consisted of only a
modest 60 Seattle players. But the incorporation of a wild array of
specialty instruments, the use of an old church as a recording location,
as well as a controversial mix for its initial album all gave the score
a sound unique to itself.
In an era when film scores all increasingly began to sound alike, and references could be drawn with ease between the new and old, Ottman's Incognito was a breed of animal unlike most others. In few other scores of the digital era has a composer so perfectly merged classical and modern styles, from the baroque ornate to the contemporary suspense technique, with such fluid precision. Waltz rhythms lead a tandem of main themes that join the painter on his journey to becoming Rembrandt, using each section of the musical ensemble like another color on the palette. The instrumentation of Incognito is truly astounding, and the mix of the elements together places each performance at equal levels to ensure their impact. Solo performances from the traditional ensemble are often highlighted by woodwinds, while the string section is in perpetual conflict with itself. The strings chop through staccato rhythms with several layers of activity, some plucked, and they alone create the whirlwind of atmospheric whimsy that prevails in the attitude of Incognito. For the conflict between the American and European aspects of the story, a snazzy saxophone bridges the gap between those tones and the brass section, which is less obvious and often restrained to solo performance by bold mid-ranges and muted trumpets. That saxophone and trumpet are crucial in conveying the more modern noir side of the film's chases, the former alone giving the score a significant injection of style. The percussion and cleverly utilized electronics are the superstars of Incognito, however. For the straight classical feel, Ottman employs a harpsichord (which whips with the kind of fury that you rarely hear from the instrument), piano, triangles, chimes, and bells, each given significant solo roles on top of the ensemble during various moments of frenzy. The piano's meanderings in several cues will remind of similar tip-toeing in The Usual Suspects. Because the film is linked inevitably to Spain, Ottman doesn't fail to let loose with the Latin flavor, and it is this distinct influence that makes Incognito a fiendish delight. An acoustic guitar is joined by woodblocks, rattles, tambourines, castanets, and maracas that become more prevalent in the score's remarkable concluding tracks. Any classically structured score with these Latin instruments is just asking for trouble, but Ottman pulls it off. In addition to the basic blend of American, European, and Latin blends in Incognito, Ottman also uses two neutral elements with great effect. First, his trademark choral sound was synthetic in nature at this time in his career, but its usual deep tones only add to the mystique of the score's aura. Second, he conjured the sound of a whip, possibly electronically, and this whipping sound is expertly included as an equal member of the ensemble. His themes are equally strong, albeit untraditional and challenging in their progressions and therefore not overly hummable. Flighty in their movements, they are elegantly harmonic and flow with grace and distinction. They expand on the Gothic nature of the main theme from The Usual Suspects and are given some rambunctious rhythms to follow. There are four themes overall in Incognito, but only three stand apart. The main theme is a descending identity heard immediately at the outset of the score in the "Opening Titles," and it comes to represent the concept of art fraud and the main character himself with elusive elegance from start to finish. Much of the flair associated with the specialty instrumentation is performing alongside this theme in the score, and the idea flourishes in the first half of the score and in the more tentative "Re-Creation" in the courtroom. Its sense of relief at the narrative's end is also notable. An adjunct to this theme is one for that character's father, who is the inspiration behind the fake Rembrandt painting. It mingles extensively with the primary theme in the painting-oriented cues, concentrated heavily in "Sketching/A Perfect Face" but becoming revelatory in stints during "Work Begins" and "Painting/The Spanish Peasant" before achieving resolution nicely in "Peasant's Return" and reserving a position in the middle of the "End Credits." A love theme is the other main idea in Incognito, and its John Barry-like presence is introduced on piano and woodwinds in "Kissing Marieke/The Note" and is sprinkled through the female lead's scenes thereafter ("Police Pursuit" and "Marieke Reads the Note") before strongly punctuating "Final Kiss" at the end of the story, where it merges with the painter's main theme brilliantly for one of the more suspenseful resolution moments of romance in memory. Ottman also supplies a percussively anxious idea for the crooked art dealers in the story, starting in "Paint Me a Rembrandt" and recurring during the score's many thriller cues in its mid-section. The melodic confines of this theme are elusive, however. In both the outwardly thematic and more abrasive chasing material in the score's middle third, Incognito is a dense score, with so much activity at every moment that it can easily tire the listener. Slower moments in the score are equally creative in instrumentation, still demanding your attention. There are times when the stalking, attack, and chase material becomes challenging, detractions like "A Murder?" and "Bad Deal" resorting to a few moments of shrieking dissonance. Prickly horror techniques on strings bleed over from the composer's Snow White: Tale of Terror. Some of the courtroom material in the third act is comparatively understated, but Ottman retains enough coloration from the previous portions of the score to keep it related and interesting. One of the more controversial aspects of Incognito has been its original album's mix. On that 50-minute product, the music was given a very treble-heavy presentation, allowing the specialty instruments, especially the metallic ones, to shine with great clarity. This move was taken to compensate for digital artifacts in the tapes that were otherwise distracting. While the masking technique does add to the unique sound of the score (and the listener can amplify the bass to counter the album's presentation), it causes some elements to lose their natural tones and sound tinny. The sax, for instance, can sometimes be confused with the sound of a harmonica. On the other hand, the sound of the score is given an enhanced fantasy element as a result, its otherworldly tone increasing the strikingly unique aspect of its instrumentation. Ottman himself was not satisfied with this presentation, despite the clarity of the recording otherwise still being nothing less than stunning, and when he rediscovered the original masters for the score within a few years, he allowed them to be used for three cues on the "Cruel Intentions" compilation album of his works three years later. While the mix was largely corrected for those highlights, it took until 2024 for a fuller, chronological presentation to emerge with Ottman's preferred mix. That Dragon's Domain product is "The John Ottman Collection, Volume 1" and also includes a pair of lesser, synthetic suspense works from that era for the composer. The difference in the 2024 arrangement and sound of Incognito will be significant for listeners accustomed to the 1997 album; it may be more even in pitch but the specialty instruments are conveyed with less exoticism. Additional reverb would have helped. But regardless of which mix you prefer, the score remains nothing less than a marvelous display of creativity. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
1998 BMG/RCA Album:
Total Time: 49:47
2024 Dragon's Domain Album: Total Time: 56:42
(Music from Incognito only appears on CD 1 of the 2-CD set. Total set time is 119:24)
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 1998 BMG/RCA album includes a note by the
film's director about the score. That of the 2024 Dragon's Domain album
contains notes about both the score and film.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Incognito are Copyright © 1998, 2024, BMG Music/RCA Victor, Dragon's Domain Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/30/98 and last updated 2/1/24. |
