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Review of The Minus Man (Marco Beltrami)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you seek an introspective, country-flavored interpolation of Thomas Newman's instrumentation and rhythms by Marco Beltrami.

Avoid it... if you seek a score longer than twenty minutes that will leave any lasting impression on you whatsoever.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Minus Man: (Marco Beltrami) The directorial debut of Bladerunner writer Hampton Fancher, The Minus Man was a psychological character study that was actually received quite well by critics despite a total collapse at the box office. It follows the aimless world of Owen Wilson's serial killer, a seemingly nice and innocent guy wandering the Pacific Northwest and taking odd jobs. But he kills upon impulse, and the film uses two imaginary police detectives to act as the character's own devils on the shoulder as both he (and the audience) seek to explain his actions. It's a disturbing film with little to like, but it's easy to see how The Minus Man captivated critics in search of films with superior character analysis (on a wide variety of characters, not just Wilson's). Outside of its own self-analysis, The Minus Man seems to have no broader purpose, and the same could be said of Marco Beltrami's score. Beltrami's career had been firmly rooted in slasher/horror films in the mid-to-late 1990's, and The Minus Man came among a series of unassuming and underwhelming efforts that really failed to help his career progress. The film did, however, give the young composer the opportunity to write a score that didn't fit the persona of his previous efforts. As a minimalistic effort with a country twist, The Minus Man would offer some moments of sparse Americana spirit of the most rural kind, and Beltrami's score is basically sufficient. It is, in spirit, a score that seeks to create an atmosphere rather than entertain by its own power, defying description in its own odd personality. Barely audible and with unintrusive pacing, Beltrami's The Minus Man creeps along in a wishy-washy environment of dissolution, stopping only in two cues to provide the dissonance necessary for the film's openly darker moments.

The ensemble consists of synthetics and a number of solo artists, most of which performing in the alluring "Main Title." A piano, faint solo female voice, dobro, acoustic guitar, cello, and a number of glassy electronic effects create a hypnotizing rhythm under a surprisingly attractive, yearning theme that barely receives air time later in the score. Several "personality quirk" cues later consist of rural Western elements in unconventional rhythms, making The Minus Man into Beltrami's best imitation of Thomas Newman music. The uncanny resemblance to Newman's instrumentation for such cues will provide some curious moments for veteran film score collectors. The two dissonant cues, "Scatback's Daydream" and "Hampton's Devil," break the monotony of the score with their nightmarish, low piano and percussion thuds over wavering synthetic voices. The only thematic highlight of the score outside of the opening titles is "Hunt for Gene," a cue that uses a delicate piano rhythm much like Mychael Danna did in Exotica, but under solemn string performances here. The only truly inspiring moments on the album, interestingly, are the songs, which are performed by two women who, like the score, have a very post-modern parochial sound to their quite poor, free-floating performances; the first two of the three songs are an enjoyable break from the otherwise monotonous score. Beltrami's contribution to The Minus Man is not of great length on the album, with only twenty minutes existing outside of the songs. While most film score critics wrote this entry off as merely a curiosity, some fans find it to be a relaxing and rewarding listening experience. Still, a score that fails to leave any lasting impression after its conclusion serves a questionable purpose on album. Interestingly, with the film being singer/performer Sheryl Crow's acting debut, it is somewhat unusual for her not to write or perform in any one of the songs. Perhaps her character's untimely death had something to with it...  **

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 30:51

• 1. Infinity* (4:06) • 2. Main Title (3:07) • 3. That Truck is a Horse of Death (1:26) • 4. The Mechanics of Vann (1:02) • 5. At Home (1:18) • 6. Rancheros Bolero (1:24) • 7. Postal Shuffle (1:49) • 8. Scatback's Daydream (1:12) • 9. Lab Rat (0:40)

• 10. The Funeral (1:20) • 11. On the Job (0:24) • 12. Hunt for Gene (2:16) • 13. Christmas (1:18) • 14. Soft Shoe Shuffle* (2:05) • 15. Under the Sheets (1:18) • 16. Hampton's Devil (1:37) • 17. The Pouch Song* (4:23)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert notes include credits for the three songs, but no extra information about the score.

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