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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Indecent Proposal (John Barry)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you apologize for even John Barry's most mundane
1980's and 1990's regurgitation in the romantic drama genre, a style of
music without any distinctive variation in Indecent Proposal.
Avoid it... if your already sufficient collection of Barry's music negates your need for endless repetition of soft, pleasing phrases and a stubborn adherence to tired instrumental patterns that fail to capture any of the agony, tension, and passion inherent in this film's plot.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Indecent Proposal: (John Barry) Controversial
eroticism certainly has its virtues when it comes to generating box
office returns, and Indecent Proposal was proof that a sultry
topic with attractive stars can overcome unfavorable critical response
of any magnitude. It was already clear by 1993 that director Adrian Lyne
was obsessed with making challenging, sexually charged films like
Fatal Attraction, and Indecent Proposal conveys its carnal
intensity in much the same manner. A young couple portrayed by Demi
Moore and Woody Harrelson seeks to solve their financial distress by
winning big in Las Vegas, but when they lose it all, they're given an
indecent proposal by the perfectly cast Robert Redford in the role of
billionaire home breaker. He draws up a contract to award them with one
million dollars in exchange for one night with the woman aboard his
yacht. After much agonizing, the couple agrees to the deal, only to
suffer from predictable consequences thereafter. The plot was lambasted
for its immorality and predictability, unfortunately having dropped the
intriguing racial undertones of the novel on which it was based. Not
surprisingly, more than a few female viewers admitted that they would
have mounted Redford without the compensation! In the end, Indecent
Proposal was the awful film that everyone went to see simply because
of the taboo subject, and Paramount capitalized on the rampant buzz to
earn over $260 million on their $38 million investment. Also popular was
the film's soundtrack album, a product filled with generally easy-going
songs of lament and heartbreak. It was topped by an affable light rock
song from The Pretenders, highlighted by a Chrissie Hynde voice that
well matches the somewhat defiant, bittersweet attitude of the story's
protagonists. The remainder of the selections include similarly low key
performances, capped off by Roy Orbison's usual depressing tone. Writing
the score for Indecent Proposal was John Barry, who had just
received what would be the last of his Academy Award nominations (for
Chaplin in 1992) and was entering the final days of his career
when redundancy in his static romance style of music had become his sole
contribution to the industry.
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.
TRACK LISTINGS:
1993 MCA Records Album:
Total Time: 60:12
(European pressings omitted the Bryan Ferry song) 2015 Intrada Album: Total Time: 74:23
* contains "In All the Right Places," composed by John Barry, Lisa Stansfield, Ian Devaney, and Andy Morris
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 1993 MCA Records album includes no extra information about the score or film. That
of the 2015 Intrada album contains extensive notation about both, including a list of performers.
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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 Indecent Proposal are Copyright © 1993, 2015, MCA Records, Intrada Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/18/10 and last updated 3/28/16. |
