 Review
#1 by Ian Davis
The film Good Will Hunting can be summed
up in two words: "therapy session." The story about why the
world's next mathematical (and everything else under the sun) genius is
cleaning floors rather than wooing lecturers, and how he is eventually
helped to resolve his inner conflict--is tactfully and entertainingly
(thought perhaps too neatly) dealt with. The script, acting, and directing
are superb, in seamless combination adding up to a film which is probably
not a classic, but the closest cinema is likely to come to it this year.
It presents an intimate, appealing and moving contrast to the bombast
and tacky melodrama of the other big oscar nominee, Titanic. (Whoops,
I'm in for it now!)
Danny Elfman's role in the success of this
therapy is as great as anyone's. For the opening titles as well as at
other key moments throughout the film the music melts us into the psychiatrist's
chair. We are comforted, relaxed, and we sink into a dream of childhood.
For some of us this may seem less needed (childhood not being too far
distant for myself) but this is no ordinary psychological frame of mind:
the "childhood" is an idealized innocence laced with a trace-like
quality which rids us of physical adult stresses.
The film itself explores violence, hot tempers,
dirty jokes and personal tragedy but behind it is this "state"
which Elfman's music for the most part presents to us.
The CD currently available has just two
tracks of Elfman. Track 7: "Main Titles" (2'41"); Track 15: "Weepy
Donuts"--the latter obviously some kind of in-joke with director
Gus Van Sant, as a track with the same title appears in their last collaboration,
To Die For. Unlike that film, however, Danny is in rare non-circus, non-gothic,
non-cynical mode. Once more bereft of Tim Burton and the wilder fantasies,
he is able to cover less expected territory.
The Main Titles present us with the entire
sound world of the film music, barring the songs ("Between the Bars"
being the most notable). The "trance-like state" is created
partly by harmony and melody, partly by orchestration (Steve Bartek once
again in collaboration). The former construct is based around one continuous
note (the "tonic" E), the harmonies swirl around it and the
melodic fragments always touch on it and move round it. The result is
a kind of blurred stasis which is heightened by the orchestration without
reducing the idea to banality. An Irish-sounding whistle theme (perhaps
metaphorical rather than--in the case of Titanic--literal?), the use of
the oboe (pastoral sound?), acoustic guitar (country sound?), wordless
voices (religious/ethereal?), soothing strings (reminiscent in places
of Dolores Claiborne, track 1...), swelling but untroublesome brass, and
even a sitar-like drone sound...all help to create an atmosphere of enchantment.
This is no tragedy--this is something positive. There are no baddies,
certainly no aliens, and the main character, unlike John Travolta, does
not possess mysterious powers. This is the kind of film that embraces
everyone like a mother; it's the kind with which you want to take your
shoes off and paddle in. And Elfman has set the scene perfectly.
A few passing remarks before the final verdict.
First, "Weepy Donuts" is of a more "incidental" nature--without
compromising the mood of the Main Titles. Its central note (now a C#)
is bolstered even closer by melody. Also I confess that the lack of contrasting
moods in that track (and I heard little of it when watching the film either)
convinces me that a separate Elfman-only soundtrack is not urgently required.
Us enthusiasts may get some enjoyment out of a more extended reading,
but surely there are Elfman scores more deserving of such treatment. Views
please on a postcard.
Second, I cannot make up my mind whether
Elfman is in any way paying homage to The Mission (1986). The film itself
has a great many psychological issues fundamental to its dramatic power
(Robert DeNiro's character in particular goes through mental crisis and
repentance). I make the connection not just through the unhurried beauty
of Ennio Morricone's music (with emphasis on the oboe), but also with
a theme of his from track 2 ("Falls" 1'53") and elsewhere, which
occurs as a motif in Elfman's score.
Closing judgement. The music in context
of the film is a magical *** out of four (can Danny go wrong now?). On
CD it is given rather brief airing (and forking out the money may seem
a bit of a waste, so = ** is really all I could recommend) but it is long
enough for those of us who want to hear Elfman in serious and intimate
vein. I might add that he also wrote the "orchestral arrangement"
of the "Between the Bars" song (track 1).
Rating: * * * (as heard in
film) * * (soundtrack
release)
 Review
#2 by the Texas Ranger
GOOD COMPOSER SHAFTED
Okay, how did this score lose the 1997 Academy Award for
Best Score to James Horner’s Titanic!? While I am a Horner fan and not
ashamed to admit it, James’ score was "TV Movie" material that
should never have seen the golden light of a nomination! I have thought
long and hard about how this travesty could have occurred - and have come
up with these eight disturbing observations:
- Elfman is hated by the Academy.
- Until recently, The Academy at large
was biased toward non-experimental, large, cheesy, epic, melodramatic
scores -- just look at John Williams’ 8 Billion Nominations (admittedly,
many of them deserved).
- The Academy’s nominations for Best
Score and Best Picture always tend to be synonymous with each other.
This, in part, is due to the fact that obsessive advertising is
the only way to get a film and/or its score noticed.
- Following observation 3, Elfman received
the nominations in the first place merely because they were both
well advertised and/or associated with films up for Best Picture
and Best Comedy/Musical.
- Titanic was a much more popular film
(a downright phenomenon!) than Good Will Hunting.
- The Titanic score was much more popular
(another downright phenomenon!) than Good Will Hunting’s score.
- Titanic won best Picture while the
much better film, Good Will Hunting, did not.
- This leads us to the obvious conclusion
that Titanic - a cheesy, melodramatic, epic, publicly popular score,
associated with a film nominated for Best Picture, and NOT written
by Elfman - was destined to win best score. Meanwhile, the superior
Good Will Hunting was lost in the doomed ship’s gargantuan wake.
All I can say to this is: God
bless American Cinema because it REALLY needs some divine intervention!
Two years after seeing the
film and witnessing the resulting Titanic coup de’tat, I’ve managed finally
to listen to the film’s soundtrack alone. At first, I was shocked to hear
how much this score was the precursor to A Simple Plan (perhaps more so
than Delores Claiborne and Sommersby!). Its use of guitars, a sparingly
used wordless choir, an electronic base beat, and sharp/oscillating harmonies
occasionally played by (what seems to be) a de-tuned electronic keyboard,
leads me to believe that the experimentation in this score eventually
would lead to the surreal musical world of A Simple Plan. Though, I must
admit, this score has a "feel good" philosophy that his later
score for Raimi’s film could never have gotten away with! In addition,
I also was shocked to hear how blatantly Irish it was! The use of Irish
motifs and instrumentation certainly fits the South Boston setting - but
it still caught me off guard. Perhaps it is because Elfman rarely has
experimented with Irish sounds in both Black Beauty and (very scarcely)
in Sleepy Hollow. These motifs and influences create a unique Elfman experience
that has yet to be repeated: A Simple Plan and Black Beauty crossbreed
- an interesting approach.
The approach Elfman took proves
that while he was distancing himself from the more classical, Herrmannesque
SOUND, he certainly was taking on a more Herrmannesque APPROACH. In this
score, he maturely began to truly capture the psyche of the film’s characters
through the music. To fully understand Will Hunting and the approach taken
in scoring his character, I must point to a pivotal scene in the film
where his psychiatrist asks - "What do you want to do with your life?"
Will has no answer, for he is an aloof character that remains suspended
-- floating from job to job, emotion to emotion, and dream to dream. I
have no doubt that Elfman picked up on this absolutely key character flaw,
and complemented it through the music. His Main Theme (Track 7) is less
of a theme and more of a collection of motifs that seem to flow, instead
of drive. Like Hunting’s life, it remains in a constant dream state, never
sticking with a particular melody long enough to establish a presence
(a clever musical reference to Hunting’s "pushing away" defense
mechanism). While it does summarize all of the motifs used in the film,
it never dwells on a specific one but merely suspends itself and rotates
around the E note. It’s as if Elfman wrote a coherent, consistent theme,
and then cut and pasted its four melodies in a nonsensical order. Still,
Elfman takes the process one step further by blurring the line between
accompaniment and lead. There is no specific instrument or instrumental
group that takes center stage in this theme. It gives the theme little
purpose and creates an atmosphere that is neither truly uplifting or truly
depressing - it merely exists like (what Ian would call it) a "therapy
session." This lack of decision perfectly captures the troubled indecisiveness
of the good-natured but flawed Will, while also emphasizing the surreal,
almost hallucinatory opening credit sequence.
The rest of the score follows
a similar pattern, drawing upon the motifs and melodies presented briefly
in the Main Theme. The darker, edgy use of the piano is used during Will’s
contemplative moments (similarly like Carter Burwell’s "Barton Fink"
score). The Irish motifs are used mostly when Will is hanging out with
his friends - signaling a common Irish camaraderie. The guitar (which
interlopes well with Elliot Smith’s song Miss Misery), sitar, and chimes
tend to be used during Will’s more ingenious mathematical moments.
Never once does Elfman deviate
from his established tone. He maintains his indecisiveness to the very
end. In some respects, this allows the score to follow the more Wagnerian
approach - two hours without a cadence! While I am exaggerating, it must
be said this score never builds to a true climax but more of a swell.
This is best demonstrated in the unreleased track, Whose Fault, and Weepy
Donuts (Track 15). In the first case, Will’s psychological dysfunction
finally come to a head. The beauty is that it never becomes implied through
Matt Damon’s dialogue but through Elfman’s music. After a pinnacle, revealing
session, Will sits and contemplates - never uttering a word. Here, Elfman
musters all of the motifs and splices them together. This chaotic mess
of melodies builds and builds, until, just when a crescendo seems imminent,
it just exhales and slowly disappears into the audio background. Once
again, Elfman never deviates from the theme of the story: the unresolved
conflict and the eternal quest.
On Weepy Donuts (Track 15),
Elfman eliminates most of the busy accompaniment. Once again, this fits
the psyche of Will - for he is given a purpose to "Go see about a
girl." Thus, the cluttered inner turmoil is resolved, but other adventures
lie ahead. Following this final plot development, the music never comes
to a full resolution, just a confined transition. Unlike other Elfman
finales, this score seems to end on a transitory note, giving the score
a purposeful, unfinished feel. My esteemed colleague, Ian, cites a lack
of moods in this piece, but he fails to realize the music is representing
the calm of a new dawn (literally and metaphorically) for Will. It remains
somewhat more forceful but does not come to its apex until Will’s friends
finally leave his abandoned home for good. At that point, the Irish whistles
finally take over as the South Boston gang rejoices at Will’s departure,
and the poor runt of the group finally gains the coveted spot in the front
seat. It’s not a full conclusion, but that’s what’s so beautiful about
it - Elfman gives the film exactly what is needed!
CONCLUSION
The Good
Good Will Hunting is an excellent
score that certainly deserved its Academy Award nomination (no matter
how insincere that nomination may have been). It provides an ethereal,
folksy, Irish, easy listening experience that seems to be somewhere in
between Black Beauty and A Simple Plan. In addition, it is one of Elfman’s
few non-ironical forays into fantasy, and thus, a more unique experience
for Elfman fans.
The Bad and the Ugly
Its reliance on motifs spinning
around a constant E note may turn off many fans who crave the big, driving,
Elfmanesque themes. In addition, the amount of actual Elfman music presented
(a mere seven minutes) is scarce at best. This minute amount of music
doesn’t justify a cost of $15.00 for most of us!
Ranger’s Verdict:
If you’re an Elliot Smith fan,
or enjoy the other ensembles on the Soundtrack release, then go for it!
If you’re not, then don’t bother wasting so much money for so little.
Once again, a great score marred by a horrible release!
Note: I agree with Ian’s
proposal that one of the major motifs of Good Will Hunting (specifically
heard in Weepy Donuts but also used in the guitar accompaniment of the
main theme) sounds exactly like Ennio Morricone’s "The Falls"
theme from The Mission. Elfman, himself, claims that he only musically
quotes from dead composers, so this presents a problem (since Ennio is
quite alive at the time this review is written). There can only lead to
two possible conclusions: 1) Coincidence or 2) intentional quoting i.e.
plagiarism. I tend to give Elfman the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately,
these situations always leave astute listeners wondering.
Music as heard on the CD:
***
Music as heard in the film:
****
Amount of Music on the CD:
*
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