Two For The Money (2005)
Director: D.J. Caruso
No score soundtrack release
Music clip 1, 0'51" (604Kb)
[DVD menu music: pop]
Music clip 2, 0'41 (491Kb) [the two-game gamble]
Music clip 3, 1'48" (1.23Mb) [the end,
with spoilers (inc. dialogue)]
Music clip 4, 1'21" (952Kb) [end credits
music pt.1]
Music clip 5, 1'09" (813Kb) [end credits
music pt.2]
THE FILM
It must be possible for a film about the sports betting support industry and a failed sportsman's troubled journey through it and the driven and broken characters that inhabit it, to be a masterpiece, but Two For The Money is not that film. The tensions are feeble, the personal accounts somewhat stilted and the script is somewhat lackluster, but at least the acting talent provides enough stimulating entertainment - perhaps more than it deserves. It just doesn't capitalise on its assets, namely the fevers, dangers and joys of gambling and how people are affected by it. The ending may be a good resolution but it doesn't feel like a journey.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Beck saves his instrumental muscle for the cues that count for the adrenaline : the opening game and the extended double-game bet towards the end - the first percussion-led, the second employing full orchestra (esp. strings, see clip 2). The rest of the score is deliberately sympathetic to the type of film: it remains unobtrusive, sometimes reflective, sometimes contemplative in style, but rarely overt, allowing the minor dramas the film has to offer some space for their own utterance. Beck isn't above employing guitar-led pop scoring to a number of scenes (particularly transitions and entries, but also for one scene where the results of a critical two games must be decided at ca.1:25'45" - the music is also heard in clip 1) but these are not theme-led since they are generally submerged by dialogue. Probably the most fearless part of the scoring here is its absence from a number of scenes, something less common in bigger films nowadays. It shows the director and composer allowing the acting talent to hold centre stage without artificial aid. Where this method is neatly reversed is the very end, where background chatter, cheering and heart-to-heart talks are suddenly muted, leaving the field clear for a beautifully simple piano/string cue. Clip 3 illustrates this, but be warned of spoliers. Verdict: a subtle score that does the film proud but has very little character of its own.
CREDITS
Score recorded and mixed by Chris Fogel
Orchestrations - Sean Dougall
Guitar loops - Andre LaFosse
Additional recording and mixing by Casey Stone
Orchestral score performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
[Symfonicky Orchester CS Rozhlasu V Bratislave]
Conducted by Allan Wilson
Recording engineer - Peter Fuchs
Assistant engineer - Martin Roller
Score coordinator - Adam Blau
Music coordinator - Season Kent
Music clearances - Jill Meyers
SONGS (etc.)