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| Elfman |
The Kingdom: (Danny Elfman) As more audacious films
set in the post-9/11 Middle East are breaking into the action and drama
genres of Hollywood,
The Kingdom examines the tricky relationship
between Saudi Arabia, radical Islam, and America. Throwing some
explosive action into the mix, the Peter Berg film lacks the
intellectual depth of some films already addressing some of the same
locales and issues (
Syriana foremost), but compensates with
enough intelligence to float the believability of the heart-pounding
action sequences in its latter half. After terrorists successfully
attack a residential compound of foreign oil workers in Riyadh, a small
team of American investigators led by a forensics expert played by Jamie
Foxx is given a deadline by the Saudi Arabian government (and their own
agents overseeing the Americans) in which to satisfy the FBI. During the
culture clash that ensues, terrorists plan another attack, and
The
Kingdom culminates in a wild chase in its last half hour. The film
has received a decent critical and audience response, with many pointing
to successful chemistry between the film's four leads. Composer Danny
Elfman had directed his career towards such films in the late 1990's and
early 2000's before returning to the children's and fantasy genres that
had defined his initial years as a major Hollywood composer. Compared to
his light-hearted, though ambitious output of the past five years,
The Kingdom is a stark swing back to Elfman's days of interludes
into the realm of tense thrillers. Not surprisingly, the film allows
Elfman to explore new boundaries in the more mature genre, presenting
ideas in
The Kingdom perhaps stockpiled over the past five years.
Stylistically, this score could not be any more different from
Meet
the Robinsons,
Charlotte's Web,
Corpse Bride, or
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, combining a new library of
sampled electronics with electric guitars and a very small, partially
stocked orchestra.
Elfman's orchestra, consisting of strings and a
collection of horns, is barely audible in
The Kingdom, made
almost completely unnecessary by Elfman's clear intent on electronic
domination. There are two distinct sides of his score for
The
Kingdom, both electronic. The first is the absolutely relentless and
cold-hearted rhythms, with drum loops so procedurally mechanical that
they make many of the standard Media Ventures/Remote Control library
sounds seem like baby pacifiers. As the film opens with a history of
Saudi Arabia from the time that oil is discovered until September, 2001,
Elfman pours on the slapping, harsh tones, deeply resonating in the bass
regions due to electric bass and drums. Sound effects imitating
electronic currents zapping through an open circuit are accompanied by
the clanging of garbage can lids and some of the more wildly
in-your-face synthetic specialties that John Debney uses in dumb films
like
The Tuxedo. The difference here is that the sounds are
deadly serious, accompanied in this opening track by the most prevalent
role for the strings and horns in the score. Scenes of attacks and
chasing take these sounds and mix them backwards, chop them into frantic
rhythms, and provide continued accents from the strings and horns in
distinctly disturbing, dissonant fashion. Some retro bass keyboarded
meanderings in "The Chase" sound like vintage Brad Fiedel work. Other
parts recall some of the ultimate in macho retro synth sounds from the
days of Vince DiCola and the original
The Transformers film.
These wild and seemingly completely unorganized sequences of raw energy
are good at propelling action, but they accomplish absolutely nothing in
terms of intelligent progression from point 'A' to point 'B.' They are
detached sound effects mixed as much in the forefront as obnoxiously
possible. Perhaps some humor can be had in samples like the electronic
elephant wails at about 2:20 into "Starting to Click." It gets
increasingly ridiculous the more closely you analyze it.
Tempering these several lengthy cues is a primary theme
for the team of investigators. Performed on electric guitar over
pleasant electric bass and keyboarded accompaniment, this theme is
introduced in "Waiting" and is beautifully presented in the long
"Finale" track. While this theme won't earn any awards, its slow,
harmonic waves move effortlessly in such a relaxing manner as to seem
like a godsend compared to the rest of the score. The most interesting
aspect of
The Kingdom is the complete disregard for any sort of
ethnic representation in the music for the location. A cue like "To the
Prince's" is a raw display of brute American power, as is almost every
part of this score. Not even a token Arabian chord progression exists in
The Kingdom. Scenes of explosives being prepared for another
attack are handled with the same electronically frenetic blasts of
America's most mechanized musical technology. As such,
The
Kingdom comes across as a distinctly simplistic and unenlightened
score. Elfman handles this film with red, white, and blue gloves,
translating the electronics of Hollywood's most futuristic technological
thrillers of the late 1990's into a seemingly incongruous situation.
This music just as easily could have been used in a drug-smuggling movie
located in America's desert Southwest. Additionally, outside of the
awkwardly subdued moments of thematic contemplation by electric guitar,
the music has no higher developmental purpose. In other words, even if
the rhythmic blasting gets your pulse racing in the theatre, those drum
loops and sampled sound effects don't mature or evolve during the film
as the plot unfolds. They are simply a blunt tool, and one not even as
interesting as some of the similar shades exhibited in this score's
closest Elfman relative,
Proof of Life. The harmonic performances
of theme will save the album for many listeners, especially in the long
"Finale," but a lack of intelligence in the rest of the proceedings
dooms
The Kingdom to levels of mediocrity.
** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.23
(in 77 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.35
(in 139,315 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information about the score
or film.
