: (John Williams) Director Roland
Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin loved making monumental disaster films
in the 1990's, but they surely didn't intend for their first attempt at
a serious, historic topic to be a monumental disaster of a film itself.
That was, unfortunately, the fate of
, an extremely
graphically gory depiction of one South Carolina family's fight against
the British during the Revolutionary War. For lead actor Mel Gibson,
there is no doubt that
was doomed by an
unforgivably trite and poorly paced script. It's difficult to think that
a film about such a valiant struggle could be made so insufferably
boring, but that's exactly what happened. The production itself was met
with criticism before it was even finished, with protests from anti-gun
lobbies and groups of historians, both of whom had complaints about the
film's depictions. Also discontent were fans of composer David Arnold,
who had been the collaborator of Emmerich and Devlin for their
blockbuster films
. The director and producer decided that Arnold's demo
for
did not exude the right feel for the story and,
as quickly as that, the popular collaboration came to a lasting
conclusion. By luck, the venerable John Williams just happened to be
available for the necessary window of time during the post-production of
, and so for a bit more of a cost (though Arnold
commands some hefty fees of his own), Williams was brought on board to
provide the film a sure bet of a score. The maestro had successfully
tackled several films of historical significance in the American
setting, with his work for
both
receiving recent Academy Award nominations. The score for
would net Williams yet another nomination, though that fact
remains more likely due to the reality that it was the composer's only
score of 2000 and the Academy, which by then always nominated the
composer during each year of his productivity, had nothing else from him
to choose.
That last point about the Oscar nomination is a bit
misleading, however, because
The Patriot is a truly fine score.
Opinions about it in the film music community range wildly, though, and
Williams caused much of this disagreement by writing a score that is
extremely derivative of his other works and, thus, utterly predictable.
If you assume that Williams would approach this film with the same
maturity of stature and keen sense of Americana, then you know exactly
what it will sound like before you hear it. The execution of its
nobility and heroic aspirations are pure Williams in style. The
multitude of themes all point to familiar progressions and the
instrumentation is standard in his Americana-ready ensemble. With all
this in mind, the quality of
The Patriot for any listener will
depend on how much respect he or she has for Williams' consistent
superiority in even his less inspired incarnations. For most, the score
will likely be easy to respect, interesting to the ears at every moment,
and a solid experience. The success of
The Patriot starts with
the continuation of Williams' basic Americana spirit, which was most
vibrant in
Far and Away, most dramatic in
Born of the Fourth
of July, and most respectful in
Amistad. Flowing string
layers, heroic solo trumpets, solemn horns in unison, a lightly tapping
snare, and joyously fluttering flutes all exist in the score, with the
only notable solo work coming in short contributions on violin in the
concert suite and its reprise on album. The mix of all these instruments
is extremely vivid in
The Patriot, allowing cues like "Ann and
Gabriel" to shine despite making use of only harp, harpsichord, and
flute (over a barely registering string accompaniment) in its first
half. A resounding bass region, especially in a few of the ambitious
action cues later in the score, is almost electronic in its depth (and
could very well by synthesized early in "Tavington's Trap"). The highest
treble contributors, led by the complex flute figures in the concert
suites and a few of the stand-off cues, are mixed at a reasonable
distance.
Thematically,
The Patriot has much to offer. The
suite covers the four main ideas in the score, with only one other
sub-motif existing later for the primary villain. The biggest detriment
of the score for some will be the fact that many of the four themes in
the suite are very similar to previous Williams ideas. The first of
these, which runs until the 2:45 in "The Patriot," is the most
intriguing, using the solo violin and acoustic guitar to convey what is
likely the Martin family theme. On the surface, this lovely theme is the
most unique in the score, though its rendering does beg for comparisons
to James Horner's
Legends of the Fall. As the secondary phrases
of the theme develop, its more upbeat progressions take on pieces of the
theme to
Jurassic Park: The Lost World (listen specifically to
the closing phrase between 1:30 and 1:35 for this connection). In fact,
the slightly exotic twist to some of the chord movements in this theme
give it (without the obvious violin flavor) a slight fantasy tilt that
could very well accompany a film of that genre. The distant mix of
woodwinds in the second minute of the suite act as almost an eerie
substitute for a synthetic choir. This theme's only major exploration
outside of the suite is a very lengthy and satisfying performance in
"Ann and Gabriel," which itself could be considered a concert suite with
its gorgeously fluid presentation. The second and third themes for
The Patriot are connected to the same general idea of the
colonies and war, with the latter serving in the suite as an interlude
to the former despite their differing purposes. When the snare and flute
figures are introduced at 2:45 into "The Patriot," the "colony theme"
follows on respectful lower strings. This theme occupies the next minute
in the suite, providing the young country with a noble sense of
entitlement. Unfortunately, this theme is so derivative of several
others that its effectiveness for film score collectors is questionable.
The opening measures of the theme (in fact, the entire first phrase!)
are copied directly from the title theme to
Amistad, and the
rising conclusion to the idea, leading into the third theme, is pulled
from
Far and Away. This theme's best use in the score itself
comes in its own prideful concert arrangement of sorts in the
outstanding "The Colonial Cause."
The third theme in
The Patriot is likely the
most memorable, heralded by triumphant trumpets at about 3:40 into "The
Patriot." The static, repeating structure of this theme also resembles
that of
Jurassic Park: The Lost World, though its blatantly
patriotic tones and a few of the other progressions will remind of Jerry
Goldsmith's
Air Force One. This theme is obviously the victory
motif in the score, and accompanies the heroic actions by members of the
Martin family, starting almost immediately at the conclusion of the cue
"The Family Farm" and appearing in fragments during crescendos
throughout the work. A fourth theme is rarely touched upon in the score,
and it is the noble medium-range horn salute at the end of the concert
suite. This adapts directly from
Saving Private Ryan and is the
weakest representation of militaristic stature in
The Patriot. A
smaller, but effective idea is used to represent the evil Colonel
William Tavington, with faint trumpets producing a very creepy and sour,
descending motif that is as curiously distant as it is menacing. The
remainder of the score has only a few moments of downtime, though it
does point to some rare temp track emulation by Williams. Outside of the
many references to his prior themes, several cues have surprisingly
transparent connections. The last half-minute or so of "The Burning of
the Plantation" is a page from David Arnold's style of tragedy, and the
last minute of "Susan Speaks" is obviously a pull from Ennio Morricone's
"Once Upon a Time in America." The action cues, led by "Tavington's
Trap," offer the same frenetic, rhythmic density as
Star Wars: The
Phantom Menace, with many of the structures and orchestrations
surprisingly identical. On the whole, Williams usually doesn't run into
problems with temp track opacity, but
The Patriot is an
exception. There is one very unique use of a tolling bell effect (and
not just standard chime banging) in "Redcoats at the Farm and the Death
of Thomas" to symbolize imminent death. Could David Arnold have produced
the same result? Maybe, but it wouldn't have sounded like an absolutely
typical, major-key John Williams score of respectful Americana. And,
ultimately, that's what everyone got.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.68
(in 91 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.54
(in 363,495 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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