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| Burwell |
True Grit: (Carter Burwell) In their efforts to
remake the 1969 film
True Grit, the writer/producer/director team
of Joel and Ethan Coen sought to follow a more faithful adaptation of
Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, hesitant to alter any
aspect of the story's perspective or narrative. Despite lingering
resentment from John Wayne fans, the Coen Brothers' 2010 version of
True Grit has been deemed a resounding success by both critics
and audiences, propelling the picture to countless awards nominations
early the following year. The tale is told through the eyes of a
14-year-old girl in the Old West who seeks to avenge the death of her
father (and theft of his gold) at the hands of one of his hired men. She
eventually teams up with a Texas Ranger and Deputy U.S. Marshal to find
the gang of outlaws with which this wanted man rides. Bickering between
the men yields an alliance strained but still ultimately driven by their
duties, the older Marshal played by Jeff Bridges in the role that won
Wayne his only Academy Award. The performance of the girl, and her
character's narration throughout
True Grit, is key to
understanding the Coen Brothers' approach to the entire story, including
its use of music. Because of her youth and the religious aspect of her
upbringing, the film relies heavily upon this perspective to set a tone
deemed better connected to that of the novel. The Coens originally
intended to use religious hymn music as the sole source of soundtrack
material for their adaptation, though during discussions with their
trusted compositing collaborator, Carter Burwell, a mixture of original
and source inspiration was eventually adopted. This film marks the 15th
partnership between the Coen Brothers and Burwell, and at several times
in the past, as in
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the composer has
been faced with the task of working around a healthy dose of songs and
various traditional pieces in his assignments. For
True Grit, he
had a task that was arguably more difficult than in previous times,
taking a collection of hymns that he helped to select for the picture
(avoiding any of a particularly melodramatic personality) and
manipulating them in a wide spectrum of ways to suit the narrative arc
of the journey on screen.
Leading the protestant hymns chosen for
True
Grit is 1877's "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", representing the
girl throughout Burwell's score and gracing the end credits with Iris
DeMent's 2004 performance of the tune. Other hymns represent various
secondary characters and places, with very little original score
existing outside of these references. While on the surface the two
soundtracks may seem only connected by the prosperity of their
concurrent releases, Burwell's efforts for
True Grit and the
challenges faced by Clint Mansell for
Black Swan are intriguingly
similar. Both scores ultimately succeed in the picture and are
substantially popular, but whereas Mansell took the easier route of
simply manipulating straight forward performances of Tchaikovsky's music
from
Swan Lake with disappointingly simplistic edits and
overlays, Burwell has accomplished far better results in his method of
heavily adapting these hymns to breathe new life into them for
True
Grit. His use of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" is extremely
compelling, nurturing it from solo piano at the start to fully
orchestral depth in the middle before returning it as necessary back to
its solitary state of peace. In "Little Blackie" and "Your Headstrong
Ways," Burwell even explores upbeat and slightly mischievous statements
of the tune, the latter briefly resurrecting the quirky spirit of Basil
Poledouris'
Quigley Down Under. In the score's most noble and
bombastic action burst, boldly brash at the start of "One Against Four,"
Burwell even elevates the hymn to open brass glory. Several cues of
lament and conversation reduce the theme to soft clarinet statements as
well, keeping the idea fresh and frequent to solidify the musical
identity. For Jeff Bridges' Marshal, Burwell uses the hymn "The
Gloryland Way" with great results in "River Crossing" and "A Great
Adventure." The arguably more attractive melody is remarkably fluid in
its movements and better suits itself to traditional Western mannerisms
in its orchestral representations of landscape travel and unfettered
resolve. Don't be surprised if you find yourself returning to these two
cues most frequently in the future. Several other hymns weave in and out
of
True Grit, but none with as much of an impact as the two
above.
For collectors of Burwell's music, the soundtrack does
offer a few bits and pieces of the composer's own voice, both in subtle
instrumental techniques and in a couple of the cues absent the hymns.
Burwell has never gained much widespread popularity in part because of
his tendency to explore broken chords and progressions of uniquely
unconventional character. Not much of that style exists in
True
Grit, though the middle of "La Boeuf Takes Leave" contains a few
familiar bars of Burwellesque writing. Those knowledgeable of his career
will note that he can let rip with Western-styled action themes that are
a bit easier to grasp, led by
The Hi-Lo Country and,
unexpectedly,
Conspiracy Theory. While the presence of the hymns
mostly eliminated the possibility of such music here, Burwell does seem
to exaggerate a few synchronization points with outward melodrama,
including extroverted explosions of activity in "Taken Hostage" and "The
Snake Pit." Two cues also containing these somewhat bloated ensemble
recordings are "A Turkey Shoot" and "Taken Hostage," both groaning in
usual Burwell fashion but also exhibiting some exhilarating moments of
brass and percussion. Overall, the soundtrack for
True Grit is
satisfying in its execution of what Burwell sought to accomplish for the
Coen Brothers. Originality is minimal and the orchestra is not as large
as most in major productions these days, but the composer's ability to
wrestle these hymns into a variety of emotional appeals has to be
commended. Specific moments of flair in the orchestrations, especially
from brass, are also impressive. Film music collectors will likely be
sent scurrying back to Elmer Bernstein's music for the 1969 film, and
indeed Burwell's score is often less palatable as a standalone listening
experience. The album for the 2010 film contains only Burwell's
recordings and unfortunately not the end titles insertion of the
existing performance of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." And there is
not much score here to begin with (amounting to only 35 minutes), so be
aware of all of these circumstances before you approach this album
blindly. Additionally, remember to remind the public at large that this
really isn't an original piece of work, but rather a very competent
revision of traditional music by Burwell into the mould of a Western
film score.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Carter Burwell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 19 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.81
(in 10,930 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The packaging of the album consists of a cardboard tri-fold slipcase with
a list of performers and a note from Burwell about the score contained within.
