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Review of Men in Black (Danny Elfman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if the memorable, retro-style title theme over chopping
string rhythms is enough to sustain your interest in the entire score.
Avoid it... if the title theme and a few robust crescendos of fantasy in the latter half of the score can't float Danny Elfman's chaotic and less effective slapstick underscore in between.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Men in Black: (Danny Elfman) An immense success in
popular appeal, Men in Black was a film made by its improbably
fantastic plot. The concept conveyed in Barry Sonnenfeld's film has been
spun off in several directions since its introduction in 1997, including
a sequel several years later as well as a culture-wide redefinition of
the phrase "men in black" and an evolution in the way people look at
pugs. With its outrageous script, Men in Black was a perfect
match for composer Danny Elfman, an artist with a keen sense of how to
treat the wacky and the bizarre in his music. By 1997, Elfman was a man
in conflict, though, and his score for Men in Black is a direct
reflection of that inner toil. Having won the hearts of countless fans
with his dramatic scores of the early 1990's, Elfman had shifted his
focus violently in 1995, returning to his rock band roots and attempting
to combine the orchestral elements of his prime success with the quirky
elements of those early days. Many fans argue that it would take until
Spider-Man at the end of the decade before Elfman really
perfected this combination, and the jury is still out on the lasting
quality of Elfman's quirkier scores in between. Ironically, Men in
Black represented the composer's first Oscar nomination, and it has
been argued that much of the attention and praise that the score has
received through the years can be attributed to just a few sections of
that score. Elfman had a tendency to do that in the mid-1990's.
Scores like Mars Attacks! and Flubber featured exemplary title or finale tracks, or otherwise offered a cue or two of stunning memorability. But the remainder of those scores' middle sections often blurred into a nebulous kind of Elfman slapstick underscore style that never really succeeded for him. Only the most loyal fans of the composer (those who still enjoy listening to his "Face Like a Frog" music from a decade earlier) seem to prefer the entirety of these scores, and Men in Black belongs to this group. There really can't be any complaint made specifically about Elfman's ability to generate zany, hip, and groovy music on a grand scale. The instrumentation of Men in Black has its fair share of guitar slides, tin drums, siren whistles, electric bass and guitar, and an array of other decidedly strange percussive sound effects that only Elfman could conjure. The orchestral presence in the score is always a factor, but never at the forefront. The ensemble is pure Elfman at his best, and any and all criticism of Men in Black that is pointed at its score is inevitably aimed at the loose construct in which Elfman allows these elements to wander without much cohesion. The exception to this criticism is, of course, the title theme, the piece that most certainly gained Elfman the Oscar nomination. Heard during a highly entertaining opening sequence in which we follow the flight of an insect, this title theme offers a very memorable chopping rhythm for low strings that never strays further than four notes from center. It appropriately has several jazzy characteristics from 1960's detective and superhero television themes. This strong identity would actually be better utilized by Elfman in the sequel score, for in Men in Black the integration of this clever rhythm into the mass of the underscore is rather poor. It's curious that Elfman wouldn't better utilize this strong identity more boldly given the film's need for just that kind of quirky, forward-thinking movement and pacing. In the score's only major exception, "The Suit," a victorious introduction to the heroes' personas are dealt with spirit. As is the case with many Elfman scores, the remaining underscore is left with two or three really memorable crescendos when electronic, synthetic, and choral unite; broad, harmonious representations of the galaxies offer triumphant cues in "Orion's Belt" and "Finale." A softer guitar theme for the scenes of reminiscing seems to pass without note. The comedy writing is sparse when forced to stand without the jokes that it was meant to compliment. Denied of its the punch lines (the visual humor of the film), it's difficult for the music to convey the kind of humor that is witnessed in the film at any given moment... like a bug explosion, or a talking animal, or an unexpected weapon discharge. For all the strange instrumentation that Elfman employs, he seems unable to musically represent some of these concepts. As hard as it is to pinpoint the prevailing weakness of Elfman's slapstick comedy writing, there is one aspect of the Men in Black score that always remained disappointing: its depth. The mix of the score is very dry and at the forefront, exposing a lack of depth in the orchestral half. Cues like "Orion's Belt" are stripped of some of the wonder that you'd expect for a fantasy cue of such proportion and expanse in instrumentation because of a poor overall mix. The chopping strings that set the rhythm in the end titles suddenly (and for no reason) solve this problem, leaving questions about whether there was a different ensemble for this one cue or if there are general inconsistencies in the mastering or recording of the music. Overall, Men in Black is a score full of potential but lacking in refinement. Its title theme is enough to float it, but aside from that and a handful of crescendos in the latter half, Men in Black is ultimately a score that struggles to deliver what it promises in its fantastic opening minutes. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 42:41
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Men in Black are Copyright © 1997, Sony Music Soundtrax and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/13/98 and last updated 9/17/06. |
