DARK CITY

TREVOR JONES

Rating:

Original Review: A triumph of production design and atmosphere, Dark City was director Alex Proyas' eagerly-awaited follow-up to the cult classic The Crow. Happily, none of the actors were killed making this one. The movie, which was based on the popular comic-strip of the same name, took place in an unnamed city straight out of a film noir. Neon lights lit up the rain soaked-streets and gave an eerie glow to the perpetually darkened sky. Into this world comes Rufus Sewell, a man with no name, no memory, no possessions, and who may or may not have just killed the woman who lies dead in his hotel room. Whilst trying to find out just what the hell is going on (much like the audience!), Sewell finds himself surrounded by many mysterious characters, including dogged cop William Hurt, sultry night-club singer Jennifer Connelly, batty doctor Kiefer Sutherland, and a whole host of pallid, leather-clad men who seem to float on air and alter reality with their minds... The soundtrack album, on the TVT label, is pretty much half-and-half in terms of songs and score. The songs, by such diverse performers as Course of the Empire, Echo and the Bunnymen and Gary Numan, are all fairly nondescript in themselves, although I do admit being a bit of a fan of the Bunnymen's dreamy early '80s style. In addition, two night club performances of "Sway" and the eerily apt "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" are given the full-on sensual treatment by vocalist Anita Kelsey (to which Connelly mimes on-screen). Trevor Jones' score treads a similarly dark path, seamlessly mixing synthesisers and orchestra through a series of cues which run the gamut of styles from tense and brooding to triumphant and beautiful. Jones' music is instrumental in conveying the overarching mood of the film. His orchestrations are purposefully thick and heavy - in parallel to the constant blackness of the city itself - and the use of a low male voice choir signifies the constant feeling of foreboding and oppression, making it a stylistic cousin to scores like Danny Elfman's Batman and Darkman. Of the score's highlights, 'Into The City' and 'The Wall' feature some rhythmic, rambunctious action sequences (parts of which would later crop up in Merlin). 'Emma' introduces the attractive, but slightly sad guitar leitmotif for Jennifer Connelly's character, and 'Memories of Shell Beach' provides a welcome glimpse of literal light at the end of the tunnel, a longing string theme for the unreachable place that everyone knows about but nobody knows the way to. In total contrast, 'The Strangers Are Tuning' sees Jones in orchestral powerhouse mode, taking his drums and brasses to a truly massive scale as the dark city itself is "tuned" by the mysterious figures cloaked in black. The 12-minute conclusive cue, 'You Have The Power', combines all three of these elements into one all-encompassing track that serves as an excellent sampler of the score's differing musical styles, It is especially worth noting for the particularly rip-roaring action element that opens the cue, and its magnificent fully-orchestral finale. Although I suppose the score could have done with a memorable theme to take away and whistle to yourself, Dark City is nevertheless a decent, if hardly earth-shattering, example of contemporary thriller writing. Jones shows considerable restraint in places where grandiosity could have taken over which, in the context of the film, was wholly appropriate. Personally, Jones continues to impress, and in terms of the consistently high quality of his output (which has included Merlin and The Mighty), 1998 has certainly been his best year of his career to date.

Track Listing: Running Time: 60 minutes 21 seconds

TVT/Madfish Movie SMACD-810 (1998)

Music composed by Trevor Jones. Conducted by Geoff Alexander. Orchestrations by Trevor Jones, Geoff Alexander, Julian Kershaw, Ed Butt and Simon Chamberlain. Featured musical soloists Gareth Cousins, Rolf Wilson and Phil Todd. Recorded and mixed by Simon Rhodes. Mastered by Brian Fifield. Album produced by Trevor Jones.


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