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Unfortunately, some of Newman's early 2000's scores employed the "less-is-less" approach, with each one getting progressively less interesting. Perhaps it should have come as no surprise, therefore, that he accepted the scoring assignment to In the Bedroom in 2001. Without the kind of funds he was accustomed to receiving at the time, Newman (as he usually did with enthusiasm) took on the challenge of creating a functional piece of music on pennies. Newman received a fair amount of praise for taking on such challenges, as well as critical acclaim for the resulting music he produces for them. But there comes a time, outside the score's basic functionality in the film, when the music becomes so constrained in volume, rhythm, and construct that it loses all the attributes that make it what it is supposed to be: music. As much as traditional orchestral film score fans may dislike the American Beauty style of electronic and percussive quirkiness, at least that style obeyed the basic rules of a film score's employment as music rather than ambient sound design. In the Bedroom, on the other hand, reached a level of minimalism so stark that it abandons even those attributes. It is, unfortunately, a victim of its own extremely limited soundscape. Newman doesn't help the situation by choosing a road of atmospheric string phrases as the foundation for the work. The string performances take on the style of sound design, droning in a seemingly mindless meandering of barely connected progressions. There is actually a recurring progression at work, but its application is so slight, slow, and soberingly dull that the character of In the Bedroom is defined by the extremely melancholy and drab tone it creates rather than any particular motif or instrumentation.

In many ways, the hopeless and muddled personality of the work, even at the height of its two scratchy title performances (which pluck and strike without harmony or reason), created one of the least inspiring scores of the decade. What's frustrating about scores such as this is that many people argue that "it's brilliant for the budget he was given." No, it isn't brilliant. It barely even qualifies as music, for the most part. Those who adore this score likely do so because of the strikingly powerful atmosphere of the film itself, in which the score is a minor player. There have been countless other films of challenging dramatic plots and no music budget, for which composers have created stark, realistic scores that effectively extend that conflict onto album. The score for In the Bedroom has no engaging element whatsoever. It's cold, heartless, and uncaring. The handful of vocal performances by the Newark Balkan Chorus would be out of place except for the fact that they are equally unlistenable in their often off-pitch performances of deluded harmony. The album also seemingly contains sound effects or dialogue from the film, mixed obviously in a few places and with subtlety in others. The start of "Thirteen" uses a piece of dialogue that says "okay, go ahead," but it is partially cut off by the placement of the track break on the product (before rugged engine noise competes with the string section of the orchestra for the rest of the cue). The "End Title" seems to conclude with muddled sounds of sloshing water. The sound quality of the recording is consistent with a few of Newman's other efforts from the era, which means the music sounds as though it was recorded underwater. Its dull, lifeless atmosphere helps define the wandering and lost personality of the composition. Is it music or is it sound design? Either way, it'll put you to sleep.  *   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Thomas Newman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.14 (in 37 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.18 (in 60,837 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 30:40