Film Scores

Back on 1/22/06 I posted on my former blog that film soundtracks/scores comprise 35% of my cd collection. I suppose my reasoning for that purchasing pattern is that I want to be reminded of films that I've enjoyed and a good score will transport the listener to the specific headspace and heartspace occupied by the film it represents since it should be intimately tied to the generation of that same emotional space. I say "score" because I think that while some compilations of songs used in a film (what I call soundtracks, such as that used for "Great Expectations") can be evocative in this way, it is harder for them to be quite as successful as a score composed specifically for a film and intended to tightly correlate.

Scores can also be manipulative of their audience because of this. I read an article about "Gladiator" (one of my favorite movies) in which the director was quoted as saying that he chose Lisa Gerrard to work on the score in order to create an emotional backbone to the story and specifically to draw female viewers into the rather violent storyline (and presumably to rake in more cash at the box office as a result). Music is a useful storytelling shorthand when executed successfully, so scores can be a way to gloss over some shortcomings in the writing or acting. They cannot save an inherently flawed script or inexpertly-helmed directorial effort, but it can elevate a sword-and-sandals epic or space opera or fantasy to something more.

This all makes me wonder about the most recent movie I've seen that has captured my attention temporarily. The score for "Casino Royale" is perhaps trying to be emotionally manipulative, or perhaps it is attempting to elevate itself. The string-reliant romantic themes are not as corny as those of the old Bond flicks, but then, the romance in this movie isn't as corny either so it is appropriate within its own context and I don't feel badly manipulated or "tricked" into liking the film. The composer lapses into some generic action music, but the opening sequence with the construction-site parkour chase is pretty craftily scored, sonically tied to the location albeit in a somewhat trite or obvious way (drums symbolizing Africa? wow, that's original). But it works, so I'm not complaining. I think the mysteriously suspenseful current running through parts of the film is also supported well in the music. But really, what is suspenseful music? What is generic action music or corny romantic music? It is sort of fascinating that as humans in a certain culture, we can pick up on those cues intended by the composer and director. We do have a sort of common musical vocabulary from which emotional messages are created, delivered, and received. As someone interested in languages, this in intriguing to me.

And, superficially (it all comes back to superficiality with Bond, doesn't it?), who doesn't like to strut around with the Bond theme in her head? Adds a rather devastatingly dashing straight-from-the-catwalk swagger to my gait. It's like I'm Bond and the Bond girl, all in one.