FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW

Review of Twilight (Elmer Bernstein)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... only if you are an avid Elmer Bernstein collector and can absorb the atmosphere of his somber and morbid film noir-style atmosphere.

Avoid it... if you expect any sense of lively engagement from the score, including Bernstein's tepid reprise of his trademark themes from previous eras.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Twilight: (Elmer Bernstein) The premise of Twilight deals with people who are past their prime and are suffering in how they deal with their fates. It boasts a phenomenal cast worth interest in the film alone, and each of the major characters is adapting to the fact that their powerful lives are being drained away by the effects of age. Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, and Stockard Channing exist in a twisted plot of murder and intrigue, set in contemporary times but living in the atmosphere of a film noir setting. Newman is a stumbling detective, ruined by drink and age, who lives with his friends, former studio powerhouses Hackman and Sarandon, and unravels a unsavory plot involving them with the help of some old Los Angeles friends. A plastic performance by Newman, who gained significant recognition for his work in writer and director Robert Benton's Nobody's Fool, sinks a film already battling a disappointingly cliched script. In his attempt to create the ultimate in film noir mysteries with a magnificent cast and crew, Benton and partner Richard Russo limited themselves to scrounging around for every old trick in the genre from 40 years prior. With a predictable and unsatisfying plot, Twilight was largely rejected by critics and failed to attract the kind of arthouse crowds it needed for success. One part of the strong production crew that failed to live up to expectations for Twilight was composer Elmer Bernstein, whose role in providing music for a noir film was well conceived. But the issues dealt with on screen also applied to Bernstein's own career. Despite having two strong scores still ahead of him in the twilight of his own career, his production was beginning to wane, his sound treading dangerously close to John Barry's level of potential ineffectiveness. But as a representative of a distant era, his involvement in such cultural statements as Twilight and Far From Heaven would seem appropriate. Unfortunately, his score here partly falls victim to his pressured attempt to resurrect the ambience desired by the filmmakers.

Without a doubt, Bernstein accomplishes a score that fits squarely into the noir category that those filmmakers were hoping to achieve. Everything about the music for Twilight drips with the same atmosphere as the film's photography, and to this end, Bernstein succeeds. But just because the era is right doesn't necessarily mean that this particular score would work well back then or now. Bernstein lifts several mechanisms from Bernard Herrmann, almost as an extension of his re-recording of Cape Fear in 1991. Meandering dissonant strings exist under ominous, muted trumpets. Multiple lines of theme are overlaid without regard to tone or rhythm. Sudden strikes pierce a perpetually tumultuous bed of suspense led by piano, strings, and woodwinds. Much of Twilight is mundane, however, leaving you waiting in your own sense of suspense for the next timpani and piano-pounding moment of fright. The most notable action sequence can be heard in "Betrayal," with terrifying rambling in the lowest ranges of the piano accentuating morbidly alternating rhythms of harsh brass. Bernstein seems undecided about how much noir theme to integrate into the score; he restrains it to the opening and closing moments, with muted brass and light percussion of a 40's band performing the film's subtle theme. Outside of those cues, as well as the full-blown dance hall piece in "Jubilation," little exists to overtly suggest the era. The Ondes Martenot plays a dual role, invoking the mystery of dark streets while also providing that other-worldly sound that had defined Bernstein's late career. The instrument, by 1998, had worn out its welcome with many listeners, and its inclusion in Twilight seems unnecessary. The subthemes that it performs are washed out by the score's droning atmosphere because of very slight mixing. Some people refer to Twilight as a score that successfully proves that "less is more." Sometimes, though, "less is underachieving," and this is the case with Twilight. A few noteworthy tracks break the somber mood, including the source track "Pier Music," which suffers from a likely-intentional imbalance in mix, and "Bye Bye Mucho," the highlight cue that sets Bernstein's easy 40's themes to a Latin/tango-like rhythm. Otherwise, even after repeated listens, Twilight is a bore.  **

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 39:12

• 1. Swimmer* (2:31) • 2. Discovery (2:01) • 3. Betrayal (2:03) • 4. Pier Music (1:17) • 5. Anger (4:19) • 6. Verna (1:28) • 7. Suspicions (1:30)

• 8. The Kiss (2:39) • 9. The Ranch (3:16) • 10. Bye Bye Mucho (3:21) • 11. Troubles (3:03) • 12. Consequences (2:19) • 13. End Credits (5:05) • 14. Jubilation (4:14)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert notes include a short paragraph from the director of the film, but has no extra information about the score. The score was recorded in December, 1997.

Copyright © 1998-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Twilight are Copyright © 1998, Edel America Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 4/11/98 and last updated 4/1/07.