For
Unfaithful, Kaczmarek offers a conservative,
subdued, and mysterious score that sometimes displays passion, but above
all presents an orchestrally romantic undertone that remains very
consistent throughout the film. As expected, the symbol of contemporary
household lifestyles, the piano, is central to
Unfaithful, with
several outstanding performances backed up by a full string section of
the orchestra in numerous cues. The challenge for Kaczmarek would be to
produce a passionate score without exploding into open musical
representations of orgasms (like Jerry Goldsmith's
Basic
Instinct) and without either failing to muster any sensuality at all
(like Terence Blanchard's
Original Sin) or falling into a well of
the romantically mundane and repetitious (like Rachel Portman's work for
many dramas of similar introversion). To that end, Kaczmarek would aim
for something remarkably similar to Gabriel Yared's romance work,
whether it be
The English Patient or
Message in a Bottle.
"The entire movie is shot so beautifully, so the imagery was very
inspiring at any moment," he stated at the time, "but also extremely
difficult to score." He also mentions that Philip Glass' work for
The
Hours is the kind of classy work to which he aspired, continuing by
saying of Glass, "it's such a nice step toward what I'm doing, still
keeping his minimalistic engine." Kaczmarek's
Unfaithful is
likely more accessible to mainstream Western listeners than much of
Glass' work (with the exception of
The Hours), with an easily
recognizable theme, pronounced piano performances, and haunting female
vocals. The progressions of his thematic material are extremely
harmonious and accessible. The wordless vocals are the wildcard in
Unfaithful, sometimes elegant ("The Visit") and sometimes
staggered with excitement ("Sudden Turn").
The employment of a cimbalom and accordion lend a touch
of European romanticism to the equation. The score's only tortured cue
comes late ("The Obsession"), and yet even in this moment the result of
Kaczmarek's effort is a very calm, if not too relaxing of an identity.
The level of passion infused into even the score's most rapturous
moments never builds beyond a restrained volume of pleasant atmosphere,
which will be disappointing for some album listeners seeking a more
engaging sense of emotion, but that characteristic of the score also
allows it to be a strong background environment for evening occasions.
The album does not feature any of the songs in the film (Moby,
Radiohead, Nara and Ali Toure, etc), and the score is top-heavy, with
the majority of lush romantic cues settled near the beginning (don't
forget to give "Burning Pictures" near the conclusion a chance, though).
If you are looking for the African blues song heard twice in the movie
(once during foreplay and again during the bathtub scene), it is among
these titles not included on the product. It is called "Al Du,"
performed by the aforementioned Ali Farka Toure, and it can be found on
an album titled "Talking Timbuktu" with both Toure and Ry Cooder. Other
music not contained on the score-only album, including that which you
hear during the first lovemaking scene when Diane Lane's stomach is in
lusting seizure mode, are two songs ("Devorzhum" and "Dedicace Outo") by
"Dead Can Dance" from their "Spiritchaser" album. As for Kaczmarek's
underscore, there is significant beauty to be heard throughout its
length. If the composer had been able to vary the emotional output of
his music to better reach out to the listener in the quieter moments, it
could easily have been a four star effort. Even as is, though,
Unfaithful is a strong and consistent listening experience on
album, recommended for collectors of Yared, Portman, Glass, or other
masters of classical or minimalistic romance.
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