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Review of The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Daniel Pemberton)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... as an admirable souvenir from the film, for Daniel
Pemberton's highly discordant but intelligent work requires more context
than most film scores to appreciate its wild emotional swings.
Avoid it... on the album without tapering your expectations for the score, the dramatic finale and soulful vocals not representative of the aggressive rock and tense courtroom ambience occupying most of the work.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Trial of the Chicago 7: (Daniel Pemberton)
Originally meant to be helmed by Steven Spielberg, 2020's The Trial
of the Chicago 7 was ultimately directed by writer Aaron Sorkin to
much acclaim. The plot is just one of many to have detailed the plight
of the Chicago Seven group of anti-Vietnam War protesters charged by the
government with conspiring to participate and then actively fighting in
the riots at the 1968 National Democratic Convention. The film switches
between the events leading up to and including the riots and the tense
courtroom scenes that eventually lead to salvation for the group of
young men and their attorneys. The film, augmented by Frank Langella's
performance as the unforgiving and angry judge presiding over the case,
offers an extraordinarily sympathetic viewpoint to the men charged.
Though the movie's release was upended by the 2020 pandemic, it still
managed to draw significant awards consideration, especially for Sacha
Baron Cohen's impressively serious performance as a group member.
Composer Daniel Pemberton had provided highly variable music for
Sorkin's Steve Jobs and Molly's Game over the previous
five years, and the recording of the score for The Trial of the
Chicago 7 proved to be a huge logistical challenge given that
lockdowns in 2020 prevented Pemberton from assembling the needed
ensemble for recordings. Fortunately, the United Kingdom opened up long
enough for up to 40 string players to record their part, and the
remainder could be handled in jam sessions for percussion, piano,
guitars, and a few others. The spirit of the music for The Trial of
the Chicago 7 was set very clearly by Sorkin for one of the three
general styles that inhabit the score. The movie has three totally
distinct emotional variants it espouses in its scenes, led by the
flashbacks to the day of the riots, which is the portion that Sorkin
dictated to minute details in Pemberton's work. Then there are the
scenes involving the courtroom drama and, in something of a combination
of both, the moments of soul-searching hope in the story that required
the infusion of a vocalist, 26-year-old British artist Celeste. The
extreme juxtaposition between the styles of these three personalities in
the score presented Pemberton with a significant problem in tying them
together in a cohesive whole, and while he acquits himself quite well in
how the score plays in the film, the album experience remains a
discordant challenge. Few scores are as totally dependent upon the
context of the narrative as this one.
Impressively, Pemberton manages to weave a tight thematic narrative into his disparate styles for The Trial of the Chicago 7. The uplifting lyrical core of the "Hear My Voice" song, previewed at the start of the score in "Hear My Dream," is adapted in its main, three-note phrases throughout all passages in the work, culminating in the victoriously symphonic crescendo of redemption for strings and piano in "Stand Up (The Chicago 7)," the film's immense, cheering, and gavel-busting finale. The subdued courtroom scenes are where this theme truly excels in the score, heard immediately in "The Trial" on faint strings and following the group through the majority of these somber cues. Pemberton intriguingly alters the phrasing of the theme so he creates a specific justice-related variant for the lawyers and court, alternating up and down to key as almost a representation of absolute power. This usage starts at 1:56 into "The Trial" and is deconstructed in "Conspiracy Office" and "Meet the Police." It truly congeals in "Star Witness," where Pemberton accelerates the idea over thumping electric bass and piano. At times, as in "Riot Aftermath" and "Motion Denied," the composer allows the strings to solemnly dwell nearly inaudibly despite continued thematic exploration. Conversely, there's nothing subtle about the outright rock passages that Sorkin demanded for the action scenes, the director so demanding about these cues that Pemberton made extensive alterations to get them right. The totally cool late-1960's rock in "We're Going to Chicago," complete with Hammond organ and brass over percussion and guitars, is as obnoxiously carefree as one could imagine for hippie enthusiasm. These elements turn extremely dark and aggressive in "Take the Hill" and "Blood on the Streets," the descending baseline of the initial rock joined by the strings ominously conveying their thematic lines on top. The "Take the Hill (Hear My Screams)" track overlays Celeste's vocals for an outstandingly defiant rendition of the idea. Her contributions are excellent, and one might have hoped that her elegant, soulful wordless vocals, as in "Hear My Dream," could have occurred more regularly during the transition scenes in the picture. The score as a whole is appropriately discordant in reconciling the actions of the riots with the trial and the feel-good Hollywood ending. The album suffers as a result, the rock passages varying from overblown with enthusiasm as necessary at the start to fascinatingly angry in the actual riot scenes. The courtroom passages are no less intelligent but extremely understated by comparison. The sappy timpani-pounding, string-led ending sounds a bit contrived outside of context. With the vocal tracks also standing apart, the album is highly disjointed, but Pemberton's overall approach remains highly commendable for the story.
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 53:35
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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