Haunting much of the film and score for
L.A.
Confidential is the composer's popular
Chinatown, but while
that 1974 score has a sultry and sleazy element to its genre's tone, the
1997 extension of similar instrumentation is meant to stand apart from
the era as a more brutal and modern-sounding thriller. This shift caught
audiences' ears, and
L.A. Confidential gained Goldsmith
nominations from the Golden Globes and Oscars, though he could not
compete with James Horner's
Titanic for either award. With
technical merits of a distinctly contemporary character, Goldsmith
succeeds in producing a very dark and mysterious film noir accompaniment
for the songs, made complete by several trumpet solos to reflect the
ambience of those songs. These aren't
Chinatown trumpet
performances, their personality more beaten and lacking any romanticism
whatsoever. But their near omnipresence after the establishment of the
main characters does allow the instrument to define the narrative feel
of each scene depending on how fragmentary its thematic explorations are
applied. The score is surprisingly urgent, driven by the creepy, low
piano rumblings that worked in
Basic Instinct and synthesized
beats resembling the John Williams style of sophisticated corruption in
the 1990's. Thankfully, the electronic contributions, because they are
mixed at a distance behind the constant trumpet and piano solos, do not
completely break the feeling of the period. (Goldsmith continues his
choice of recording the synthetics live with the orchestra, though,
pushing further his theory that the array was a fifth section of the
ensemble.) The tense action scenes announce themselves with extremely
heavy percussion, highlighted by a prominent role for aggressive
timpani. The bombastic role of that instrument in "Bloody Christmas"
will revive memories of classic Goldsmith action fury from the days of
Capricorn One and
The Wind and the Lion. That cue, though
short, is likely what garnered the score its widespread attention, as
it's a remarkably powerful moment of deep piano and timpani menace that
shows Goldsmith at his darkest. Sadly, the remainder of the score never
captures that level of intensity again, more often stewing with the same
instrumental and tonal coloration.
Thematically, Goldsmith uses one dominant identity
throughout
L.A. Confidential, a tired trumpet often carrying its
pieces in a somewhat dazed but occasionally more lucid and determined
fashion. Rather than address individual characters, Goldsmith applies
the theme to the entire range of detective work and corruption
generally. It has some passing similarities in progressions to the
"It's a Long Road" theme from
First Blood. The intentionally
neutral and stale demeanor of the trumpet's handling of the theme makes
it somewhat limp, though its deconstruction into fragments is
intellectually adept. When it does strive for hints of romanticism and
is joined by more accessible harmonies, the theme faintly reminds of
that Chet Baker style. As per Goldsmith's usual 1990's habits, the theme
receives its best treatment at the conclusion of the score, when the
full ensemble accompanies the trumpet in one final, redeeming rendition
of the idea. A secondary theme represents the shared love interest of
the story, and although its piano and trumpet renditions over soothing
strings in "Bud and Lynn" and "False Information" offer a glimmer of
warmth, this theme is intentionally fragmented a few times in ugly
fashion later in the story but serves no broader purpose. Even with
these themes, the score is extremely alienating; it attempts to draw you
in with comfortable, intimate tones while pushing you away with its
dissonant suspense and faceless action rhythms. This was the intent, of
course, and because
L.A. Confidential is a rather cold piece of
music that is successful in its gloomy task, it's not entirely pleasant
on album. The melodicism is depressingly stagnant by design, and,
outside of "Bloody Christmas," the action music will not impress
Goldsmith collectors tired of similar, if not identical, techniques on
piano, timpani, and electronics in concurrent efforts. The noir element,
likewise, is not substantial enough in length or harmonic allure to be
convincing. The original 30-minute album of 1997 from Varèse
Sarabande contains the highlights, though the label expanded that
presentation to 45 minutes of film-version mixes in 2022, joined by the
original album arrangements as well. The fuller narrative development of
the main theme is occasionally interesting on the 2022 product, but the
score doesn't otherwise benefit from additional length on any album. Its
functional patchwork of prickly, song-straddling cues never establishes
enough individual identity to appreciate for long.
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