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The "Othello" score by Goldenthal received another burst of attention in 2003 because of the original ballet performance's release on DVD. It's important to remember, especially for Goldenthal collectors, that "Othello" is a ballet and not a film score. Because of that fact, the composer was required to provide all of the aural ambience for the production, speaking as the sole voice and serving as the only rhythmic device for the dancing on stage. As expected, then, his music for "Othello" is painfully laborious, with complicated passages at every turn. Goldenthal takes his understanding of difficult, dark emotions to the most perplexing level, allowing his dissonant, frenetic music to flow uninhibited by scene changes or dialogue. As the emotional outlet for the dancers, the music is extremely heavy handed, pounding the listener with its atonal vastness. To say that "Othello" has themes for its characters is true, but the individuality of each character is expressed more through the pace and brutality of the orchestra rather than traditional, melodic lines. In these regards, the emotions of the story are brilliantly conceived by Goldenthal. This man knows his tragedies. But, at the same time, the romance, the allure, and the agony are all lost in Goldenthal's stretch for postmodern energy and creativity. He captures the essence of Iago but failed to truly convey the love between Othello and Desdemona. Still, the sheer mass of sound is breathtaking, and it overwhelms with a blunt edge that could easily provide a lengthy headache for a listener not soothed by the sight of the dancing. Appreciating the complexity of the piece, it's easy to understand why the concurrent score for Sphere was so underachieving. Goldenthal's ballet is written with the same classically eccentric, but brilliant fashion with which he writes his liner notes. And yet, it's not always listenable, ranging from fascinating in structure to unbearable in its ear-shattering ramblings. There are snippets of Bernard Herrmann to be heard around every corner, but Goldenthal is always attempting to take that sound a step further, sometimes succeeding brilliantly and sometimes creating a soundscape too challenging to tolerate. "Othello" will exist somewhere on that scale for many film score listeners. To be conservative, it's an album that can only be really recommended to those who are accustomed to Goldenthal's postmodern style and can digest it in all its forms.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Elliot Goldenthal reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.13 (in 16 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.2 (in 17,800 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

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