Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #755
Written 11/18/06
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Buy it... only if you are already familiar with the atmospheric
styles of David Julyan and specifically enjoyed his work in this
particular film.
Avoid it... if you expect any semblance of intellect or enchantment
in the score to match the story of the film.
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| Julyan |
The Prestige: (David Julyan) Film scores have often
been referred to as "magical." Their effect on a motion picture can be
as spine tingling, if not more so, than any or all of the other elements
in the production. And yet, sadly, there have been precious few
Hollywood films offered in the genre of historical magic, a seemingly
perfect match for the kind of romantic orchestral enchantment many score
collectors yearn to hear. Two films in the latter half of 2006 suddenly
thrust the equation upon us, however, neither of which arriving with any
guarantees from a widely popular industry composer. Both The
Prestige and The Illusionist are enticing to film music fans
because they provide an opportunity to hear a composer write a truly
three-dimensional score, a work of wizardry to dazzle our ears with
creative twists of intelligence and deception. For Philip Glass and
The Illusionist, the pairing would entice curiosity, but for
David Julyan and The Prestige, it was much more difficult to
imagine how the composer's usual style would fit the genre. As with the
other film, The Prestige is tale of dark cinematic mystery and
suspense set in Europe at the turn of the century, though the production
team and cast of The Prestige has proven to have enough of a
higher profile to elevate the film to greater box office success than
its competitor. The relevant aspect of the story of The Prestige
to the score, aside from the obvious magical industries, is the running
competition between two successful magicians after a trick gone horribly
wrong shatters their previous partnership. Julyan is not only faced with
the task of providing that third dimension to the mystique of the
classical magician, but also has to do it in the context of an
escalating battle of wills between the two men. He also had to deal with
the presence of music "producer" Hans Zimmer in the process, throwing in
perhaps a fourth dimension of creative discourse recommended, likely, by
director Christopher Nolan, who had collaborated often with Julyan in
the past, but teamed up with Zimmer for the blockbuster Batman
Begins in his previous major effort.
Anyone familiar with Julyan's career can predict where
this score and this review are probably headed. The previous entry in
the collaboration,
Insomnia in 2002, is representative of the
kind of atmospheric textures that Julyan is comfortable providing in his
assignments. It's hard to imagine his usual droll, bleak tones as a
functional accompaniment for
The Prestige, for there is such a
sharp pair of intellects on display in the film. But unfortunately and
perhaps predictably, Julyan does not deviate one moment from his comfort
zone, writing one of the most disappointing scores of not only 2006, but
his own career. Succinctly put, this score is lifeless. It is
constructed on a bed of simplistic string chords and dull electronic
soundscapes, often maintaining single chords of slight dissonance for
over half a minute. Thematic structure is barely attempted and motifs
are not nurtured to fruition. Only occasionally, in the middle portions
of the score, does Julyan insert plucked strings or stark woodwind
rhythms over the top of this misty haze, but never with enough harmony
to make the score any more entertaining. A sparse, solo piano provides
the lone stab at romanticism in a few cues. Tension is artificially
rendered, intrigue exists only in the form of the perpetual minor key,
and the tempo is rarely increased for scenes of exciting visual action.
The bass elements are overmixed to such an extent that a droning cue
like "The Transported Man" is begging to give you a headache. Julyan
concludes the score with a sudden, electronically-manipulated end in a
cliche you'd expect to hear in a B-rate horror score. When you put the
package together, you find absolutely nothing interesting or satisfying
about Julyan's score for
The Prestige, which is not a crime in
and of itself. But it's so counter-intuitive for the genre that it
borders on offensive. It's a score that equates the world of magic with
that of a drug-induced trance, completely ignoring any development for
the individual intellects competing on screen. Without the film to
support it, the score is a wasteland of atmospheric mush, and after 48
minutes on album, you'll be begging for the far more engaging work of
Philip Glass for
The Illusionist. Julyan's sound effects here
cannot compete on any level.
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