: (Danny Elfman) Much in the same style
as the director Martin Brest 's previous
relies upon the chemistry of
its leads to carry its appeal. Robert De Niro is a bounty hunter tasked
with finding the ridiculous but otherwise compliant Charles Grodin, a
former accountant for the mob, and bring him to the bail bondsman who
made the unfortunate bet that the accountant wouldn't flee after being
tagged for his mob activity. The bounty hunter, Jack Walsh, succeeds in
finding that man, otherwise known as "The Duke," but unfortunately for
both of them, it seems that half the universe is after one or both of
them as well, including the mob's boss, federal agents, and yet another
bounty hunter. The entire movie is an arduous chase across the United
States while Walsh avoids running afoul with any of these other
characters. The two handcuffed leads eventually form a bond of trust
that leads to a surprisingly positive conclusion at the end. The film
was an immense fiscal success, received top-level awards nominations,
and confirmed the prowess of both Brest and De Niro in the comedy genre.
The movie was also a worthy diversion for Danny Elfman, who by 1988 was
suddenly neck-deep into his new composing profession and branching out
into various genres for himself. His very busy writing schedule in 1987
and 1988 cemented his credentials beyond the quirkiness of his Oingo
Boingo roots. While he had tackled assignments for non-fantasy
contemporary topics, Elfman hadn't really opened up with a divergent
style to the extent that
allowed, exploring blues
and country tones in absolutely saturating fashion. While the composer
had laced his material for The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo and
then
with a definite Cab Calloway influence, he
had never really opened up and devised a whole work informed by those
genre origins. In retrospect,
is therefore one of
Elfman's most unique and fresh scores not just for the 1980's but in his
entire career, a sustainable experience despite being rooted in the
instrumentation of the time of its creation.
While Elfman's instrumental choices in
Midnight
Run are vital, so too is the performance inflection and pure, joyous
attitude that prevails in the rendering. Several of the Oingo Boingo
band members performed in the broader ensemble for this score, but don't
expect to really hear any direct references to that style of Elfman's
past. Nor do you receive the drab and primitive sounds that had badly
restrained the composer's
Wisdom just a few years earlier.
Indeed, his capabilities had improved vastly over just a short period,
excelling in arrangement, equipment, and thematic handling. The
instrumentation for
Midnight Run features electric and acoustic
guitars, electric and acoustic bass, drum kit, piano, vibraphone, brass,
accordion, harmonica, Hammond organ, and synthesizers emulating strings
and performing their usual keyboarded parts. Elfman generally keeps his
cues short and pinpointed to a specific flavor of emotion in the score.
The collection of themes is balanced by several chase motifs that don't
explicitly reference one of those themes but maintain the mood, often
making use of improvised harmonica outbursts and madly strummed guitars
with great enthusiasm. There aren't many stylistic diversions from the
core sound of the work, though slight Latin influence kicks in for humor
in "Amarillo Dawn" and the only suspense comes in the atmospheric
rhythms of "The Confrontation," the closest to
Wisdom Elfman
strays here. As for the themes of
Midnight Run, the primary one
for the story overall uses descending comedy phrasing typical to the era
and provides trumpets, piano, electric bass, and drum kit plenty of
space to let rip with spirited vibrancy. In full force during the
entirety of "Main Titles," the main theme flashes some shade in the
first half of "F.B.I.," reprises its full form in "Mobocopter" with the
brass a bit muted, and is reduced nicely on guitars in "Potato Walk" for
a conversational aside. It builds up to its wildest incarnation in the
jubilant "Desert Run," but the end credits revisit it with a gospel
rendition in the "Try to Believe" song. Although credited to "Mosley &
The B-Men," the performance is actually by Elfman and Oingo Boingo, with
the score's instrumentation carrying over for strong continuity.
Among the secondary themes in
Midnight Run, one
for the bounty hunter, De Niro's Jack Walsh, utilizes ascending phrasing
with a distinct Harold Faltermeyer influence in its use of bluesy
guitars. Cool, solitary, and victorious in the flourishing guitar of
"Walsh Gets the Duke," this theme receives more layers of activity and a
less obvious guitar placement in "J.W. Gets a Plan." It is more upbeat
with less strident tones in "Drive to Red's" but returns to its opening
singular guitar prominence in "The Longest Walk." On the flip side, the
theme for The Duke, the accountant, presents softer blues for piano and
vibraphone, elegantly keyboarded during all of the brief "In the Next
Life" and generally affording the score its respites of contemplative
redemption. This idea slows the mood with the help of Hammond organ and
piano in "Diner Blues" and becomes even slower with more gravity from
piano and synthetic strings in "Walsh Frees the Duke." Among the
secondary themes, one for the other bounty hunter, Dorfler, is a
bluegrass identity of laid-back ease with accordion and piano in
"Dorfler's Theme," reprised in largely similar ways during "Dorfler's
Problem." Less impactful is what barely qualifies as a motif for Mosley
the F.B.I. agent. This stewing piano idea contains the score's darkest
intent at the end of "F.B.I." and is hinted in the tone of "The
Confrontation" but not clearly enunciated enough to provide continuity.
The entire package of
Midnight Run is a success from start to
finish, its attitude and personality a perfect match for the movie's
character. The score's detriment is its relative stasis from start to
finish, Elfman never feeling compelled to vary the feel far from its
core. On album, that consistency could be a significant plus, though
there has only been one long-standing product available for
Midnight
Run and it has sometimes commanded collectible prices. Its sound
quality is solid for its generation, and the synthetics and guitars
don't age it as much as you might expect. Oingo Boingo fans will note
that the "Try to Believe" song was rearranged a bit for inclusion on
their 1990 album, "Dark at the End of the Tunnel," and that performance
is arguably superior. But the score album is not to be discounted. It
sounds very little like a typical Elfman work, akin to only
Hot to
Trot, and it's damn good at the blues it conveys, making it an
enduring pleasure to revisit.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 92 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.27
(in 154,486 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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