Lyne's films didn't typically feature Barry's kind of
soft, hopelessly romantic style, and it could be argued that his score
for
Indecent Proposal is predictable in its failure to really
address any of the highs and lows of the tension and passion on screen.
It was also bound to recharge the ongoing debate about Barry's useful
purpose in the industry and whether his stubborn refusal to explore any
of the instrumental creativity from early in his career should have
relegated him to concert albums long before that actually happened later
in the 1990's. To say that Barry's trademark romance sound had become
redundant by 1993 is a massive understatement. In fact, the bulk of the
scores that he wrote for these dramas after
Somewhere in Time are
largely interchangeable with each other, and
Indecent Proposal
was unfortunately the recipient of a score that has absolutely no
individual characteristic of note. In
Chaplin and a few others,
Barry would write secondary ideas of some measure of pizzazz that would
offer those scores a touch of unique definition. That's not the case
here. Not a single moment in
Indecent Proposal is memorable when
compared to the composer's larger body of work. The ensemble uses piano
and strings to convey themes of familiar harmonic resonance. The piano
is always the most alluring part of these Barry scores, if only because
of the overexposure of his grand string themes for his Oscar-winning
triumphs. These scores must be the most uninspiring for a brass section
to have to sit through. Subtle horn backing for the strings is once
again the duty of these players, an extremely simplistic
underemployment. Percussion (outside of the piano and harp) is virtually
non-existent. An acoustic guitar is badly underutilized. There has been
respectful praise for these ingredients from viewers of the film, and
their arguments do have some merit. With the script calling for such
excruciating mental anguish from its leads, the strings and piano offer
a very comforting representation of the lasting love between the primary
couple. Barry's soothing music reminds of this bond even as Harrelson's
character panics about the arrangement partway through the story. Even
so, however, this score could have used some flair in its ensemble; a
fleeting, sorrowful saxophone might have done wonders for the atmosphere
of Redford's lifestyle.
The structures in
Indecent Proposal,
unfortunately, are the stuff of Barry parodies. Gentle sways of
shifting, ultra-satisfying harmonic progressions repeat seemingly
endlessly, each section of a theme stated twice as per usual. The pacing
of the score is even slower than Barry's typically crawling tempi,
sometimes to tedious extents. There are three distinct themes that
represent the characters in the film, but while they can be technically
separated by a closing appreciation, there's little obvious difference
between the three for casual listening. The only motif of any interest
is that of clock-like, ticking percussion to represent the suspense of
waiting. The original 1993 album condensed what it deems five separate
cues into one 25-minute suite, an ironic choice that almost accepts the
inevitable reception of the score as one redundant piece. That suite is
an extremely fluid listening experience, the kind of presentation you'd
expect to hear on one of Barry's concert albums. There is no adherence
to synchronization points in the film and no abrupt changes in
direction. As such, it's a music editor's dream. For listeners seeking
even the most minute diversion from Barry's soft themes, there are a few
slight changes in tone in the middle of the suite. At the 11-minute
mark, Barry finally allows some of the broad ensemble strokes of
resonance common to his famous scores. Then, at 12:30 and again at
15:20, he churns through his suspense motif for piano and brass that at
least drops the sappy tone for a while. In 2015, Intrada Records
provided a proper presentation of the score without any of the
surrounding songs, tripling its length on album by including countless
short cues and the multitudes of alternate edits and prior album
versions. While this arrangement does reveal some of the more
intelligent subtleties in Barry's approach to the score, to call
anything in the work an "intelligent subtlety" is a bit of a stretch.
That said, even on this longer album, while the music still makes for
very easy listening, it does not capture the essence of the film's
story. It doesn't reflect the seedy side of the plot, nor does it make
an attempt to bolster the agony of the couple's decision. Therefore,
Barry failed in his task with a lackluster, arguably lazy effort, but
it's a fine listening experience that will appeal to anyone sympathetic
to the composer's later regurgitation. Casual enthusiasts of the film
should continue to seek the original 1993 album to get the best blend of
songs and score from the story.
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