Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,850
Written 1/18/10
Invert Colors
Buy it... if you agree that every composer should be allowed to
come out of retirement and return to his roots one final time,
especially if it can be done with both precision and a sense of humor.
Avoid it... if you are horrified to be reminded of the era of
Marvin Hamlisch's dominance in 1970's mainstream jazz and light romance
and, on a related note, you couldn't stand the Austin Powers
scores that parodied him and his contemporary peers.
The Informant!: (Marvin Hamlisch) While immersed in
his Ocean's Eleven franchise in the early 2000's, director Steven
Soderbergh sought to adapt journalist Kurt Eichenwald's book about the
whistle-blower behind the exposure of a large agricultural company's
conspiracy to fix the price of lysine in the 1990's. The true story of
The Informant! focuses on Mark Whitacre, an executive in the
company who worked with the FBI to secretly record his cohorts' business
dealings. Unfortunately, while this man proved useful to the
government's case, he also suffers from bipolar disorder, which caused
him to take on the role of a mole as if he were a secret agent, with all
the delusions of the characteristics assumed by such spies. His wacky
and reckless behavior culminates in the revelation that while he was
betraying his own company, he was also defrauding it of millions of
dollars and living under the assumption that his actions would be
greeted with enough appreciation that he would become CEO of the company
once all of the other executives were cleared out in the government
raid. Ultimately, his defense became so insane that he ended up serving
more time in prison than those who were actually doing the price fixing,
thus bringing to an end the man's fantasies of grand esteem. Matt
Damon's performance in the lead role, which made headlines by requiring
him to gain thirty pounds and puffy cheeks, was the selling point of the
film, and the production managed to squeak out a small profit. It
wouldn't have been surprising to see Soderbergh turn to his frequent
collaborator David Holmes for a snazzy musical score for The
Informant!, but he made a far more surprising choice in the hiring
of famed 1970's songwriter Marvin Hamlisch. An entire generation has
passed since Hamlisch was a household name who earned Oscar nominations
at a rate only matched by John Williams, and, in the interim, at some
point in the 1990's, his name was often mocked as being perhaps the
biggest symbol of 1970's loungey jazz that had fallen out of favor. It's
ironic in many ways that the sound he helped maintain in popularity
throughout the 1970's and into the 80's was parodied extremely well by
George S. Clinton in his Austin Powers scores. And now, another
decade removed, Hamlisch returns to write his own retro throwback score
with a personality that young listeners will only recognize from the
Austin Powers films. What a cruel circle it is, but at least it's
still humorous.
It's possible that
The Informant! will be to
Hamlisch what
Far From Heaven was for Elmer Bernstein: one final
foray into the sound of yesteryear for a rare film for which that sound
is appropriate. If so, then bravo! This is truly the way careers should
be remembered. For Hamlisch, the soundtrack community had long thought
his exit came with the 1996 Barbra Streisand film
The Mirror Has Two
Faces, so this sudden infusion of faithful Hamlisch pizzazz from
another era is striking. Not only does the composer resurrect staples
from his own career, but also those of Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin,
Henry Mancini, and Burt Bacharach, rolling so many stereotypes from
1970's jazz into one place that it will likely shock anyone under 30
years old. Everything you remember from the era's spy capers (and the
Austin Powers scores, for that matter) returns, from elegant
piano solos to muted trumpets, thumping electric guitar, vibrant
harmonicas, rhythmic puffs of the Hammond organ, spirited flutes,
innocent whistling, burping sax and kazoo, swaying strings, and lightly
tapped snare and cymbal. It's interesting that Soderbergh and Hamlisch
completely bypassed the 1990's setting of the film and chose this style
of jazz to represent the world in the lead character's head. The
disparate sounds of the 70's and 90's are certainly an effective way to
address the bi-polar disorder that causes him his delusions. Hamlisch
does nothing to restrain himself, even taking the score into hoedown
territory for a banjo and fiddle explosion in "Polygraph." The most
nostalgic parts of
The Informant! are those such as "Boxes," in
which piano and soloists romantically ponder the situation over soothing
string backing. Only a bass bassoon figure in this cue and the opening
"The Informant" hint at an ominous future. It's difficult not to smile
upon hearing Hamlisch return to this territory; what was once laughed at
because it was so unfashionable is now so lovingly conveyed in perfect
digital sound that you can't help but appreciate its employment. There's
even a Las Vegas-style showpiece song with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn
Bergman and vocals by Steve Tyrell. Nevertheless, the audience for this
score will be limited. But hey, if you're going to go back to
shamelessly resurrect a sound like this, you may as well do it right.
And Hamlisch, firmly rooted in his comfort zone, nails it with
authority. A short CDr-on-demand album is the perfect length for this
material. It was nominated by half a dozen awarding bodies,
including the Golden Globes, and it was somewhat surprising not to see
the 70's star receive another Oscar nomination for old times' sake.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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