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Review of We Own the Night (Wojciech Kilar)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you appreciated the highly varied collection of source
rock songs in the film, ranging in culture and time period
considerably.
Avoid it... if you expect the few moments of respectfully beautiful string underscore in the film to translate well to a rather dull presentation on album.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
We Own the Night: (Wojciech Kilar) You have to
wonder what goes through the mind of a filmmaker whose film is heartily
booed at the Cannes Film Festival and press screenings. Could We Own
the Night really be that bad? Director James Gray reunites with his
two stars from The Yards for another grim tale set in Brooklyn, a
locale evident in all his major films thus far. The story this time
around is also equally cloudy, dwelling in the murky depths of gray
scenery and vague commitment to a 1988 time frame. Joaquin Phoenix and
Mark Wahlberg play brothers born into a family of legendary law
enforcement status established by their father, portrayed by Robert
Duvall. When Pheonix changes his name to run a nightclub and live a life
of riches based on the exploits of the growing Russian drug trade, the
inevitable battle between his public persona and his family's enduring
fight against crime is realized. The film's success rests on the gritty
performance of Pheonix, fresh off his award-winning imitation of Johnny
Cash, and early reviews have clearly identified this follow-up
performance as the highlight of an otherwise questionable film. Did it
deserve its round of catcalls at the screenings? If you're not a fan of
lazy direction or mid-80's Ford Crown Victorias, then yes. The
soundtrack for the film, unfortunately, may also cause some angst. Gray
employs a collection of rock songs that defy the period of the film;
while the story is supposed to resurrect that atmosphere of the late
80's, the songs chosen for the film are all over the map in terms of
period. Classic rock from decades prior is forced to mingle with songs
that were probably meant to be contemporary, but miss the mark by five
to ten years too early. A Hispanic tilt to them is perfectly
understandable given the presence of Eva Mendes in the role of Pheonix's
Puerto Rican girlfriend and glittery gem of the nightclub. But when you
hear all of these songs together on the soundtrack album for We Own
the Night, the range is quite striking and it serves as evidence in
support of claims that Gray completely failed at his attempt to convince
audiences of the era.
The rather short orchestral underscore by veteran film music composer Wojciech Kilar is another curious piece of this puzzle. Howard Shore was Gray's composer of choice for The Yards, and the switch to the more aritistically European Kilar is intriguing. Kilar has proven throughout the last fifteen years (since becoming known to international audiences with Bram Stoker's Dracula) that he is adeptly capable at the art of brooding in particular. Deep layers of strings, morbid in their slow alternations of rhythm and heavy emphasis on melodramatic weight, are a trademark of Kilar's scores for films of the Cannes variety. And while that approach may not seem like a logical choice for the setting of We Own the Night, listeners familiar with his works will receive a heavy dose of that sound they've heard before. The score is sustained by solemn string rhythms, slowly building themselves to an adagio of classical style throughout the score. Instruments outside of the string section are few and far between, likely limited to just a handful of percussion and woodwind players. The structure of We Own the Night seems to follow similar lines to the primary tones of Kilar's The Ninth Gate, which indeed seems strange, but at least it makes little attempt to mask its intentions. Pieces of the main theme that develop on strings and then are offered in full in "Planning the Bust" and "End Credits" by oboe owe significant inspiration to the instrumental (not female vocal) theme from The Ninth Gate. This theme isn't going to stick in your mind for any great length of time. In fact, the string anthem that serves as the score's adagio overshadows it in its culmination with drum rips in "Funeral," the short highlight of the album. A third theme for softer instruments, embodied mostly by the xylophone, exists for the most tender conversational moments of family bonding, and these cues are aided by harp and acoustic guitar. Ultimately, outside of the synthetically enhanced high pitch effect in "Burt Dies" (a definite spoiler there), Kilar's work is remarkably dull. It's pleasant as a pulsating, droning background listening experience, but it offers absolutely no artistic flair or variance in tone. It rolls along in a daze like it's solely there for the ride. Just over twenty minutes of score on album, combined with the inconsistent (though more interesting) song selections at the outset, lull you to sleep. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 70:11
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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