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Review of Keeping the Faith (Elmer Bernstein)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you are an established collector of Elmer
Bernstein's music and would be interested in a penultimate score that
pays tribute to his light jazz works of decades earlier.
Avoid it... if you expect either a score that charts any new territory for Bernstein or an album that comfortably surrounds that score with similarly-styled songs.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Keeping the Faith: (Elmer Bernstein) The lack of
chemistry can doom a film, and with Keeping the Faith, Edward
Norton's directorial debut, that disjointed collection of otherwise fine
parts not only afflicted the three primary actors, but several parts of
the production itself. Norton cast himself as a Catholic priest, while
Ben Stiller is a Jewish rabbi and Jenna Elfman is the childhood friend
that both are attracted to in adulthood. Their complicated triangle
mostly provides the substantive comedy for the lovable metropolitan
flick, though wooden acting performances by two of the three leads and
the fact that the more likeable of the two men doesn't get the girl are
troublesome flaws. Among the several production elements that don't
quite fit together into a comfortable package is Elmer Bernstein's
throwback score for the venture. Norton must have loved having the
opportunity to make a film with a score by the Silver Age master, who
was in the process of extending his career into yet another decade and
bring along his distinctive jazzy styles from yesteryear in tow. His
assignments of the late 1990's tended to stay close to the composer's
comfort zone, and Keeping the Faith is firmly in that category;
unfortunately, most of these projects were smaller mainstream ventures
that had a habit of disappearing quickly from theatres. A productive
1999 was anchored by the remarkably emotional dramatic score for The
Deep End of the Ocean, and Keeping the Faith is likewise a
score of subtleties. More importantly, Keeping the Faith largely
represented the end of Bernstein's normal schedule of writing, with only
Far From Heaven remaining in his career two years later. Both
Keeping the Faith and Far From Heaven, Bernstein's only
scores of the 2000's, are works that pay tribute to the composer's
height of popularity, with the former reminding of the heyday of small
band jazz and the latter giving the nod to the intimate dramas from the
earliest days in his career. For Keeping the Faith specifically,
Bernstein takes a comedic approach towards the film with light jazz
rhythms that bounce harmlessly throughout most of its length.
The majority of Keeping the Faith is performed by a small band ensemble led by piano, with occasional string accompaniment and minimal contributions by the remainder of a small orchestra. The lazy movements and predictable progressions in the free-floating jazz and slightly dramatic string interlude during "Main Title" will be extremely familiar to Bernstein collectors; the cue is among the strong summaries of the score's ideas, but it was replaced by a song in the finished cut. The repetitive comedy motif of "The Three" is built directly into the rolling bass and percussion rhythm, with woodwinds and brass performing a snazzy motif for a few minutes until solo piano intervenes. Bernstein's trademark use of piano is the heart and soul of the score, galloping along at a softly vibrant pace. The most dramatic full ensemble pieces come in "It's Love" and "All's Well," the score's two full blown comedy moments that rip with snare and bursts of brass to accentuate a slapstick environment. Most of the cues introduce new thematic ideas, with little true continuity holding the entire product together. When you step back from Bernstein's score here, there are some questions about how serviceable the jazz and light drama combination was for this contemporary film, especially when taking into consideration the collection of songs that also made the film and album. Bernstein's jazzy comedy is universal enough to work in the situation, but the comparatively geriatric sound of slower cues like "Cloister" are an odd match for the film. Nor, for that matter, does Bernstein insert any pokes of fun at the religious nature of the story. The sound quality is strong, however, and is among the best recordings of a small Bernstein ensemble ever to be pressed. The album contains about 25 minutes of songs and score each. In and of themselves, they work fine, but they clash when put together on album. The styles are so wildly different that you'll find yourself questioning either the contemporary selection of songs or the appropriateness of Bernstein's score. On the whole, this error sums up the difficulties of the album in establishing either the songs or score, and in regard to the latter, Keeping the Faith will likely only appeal to devoted Bernstein fans. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 50:02
* score cue not used in the film
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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