Review by Bluntinstrument

Note: film not viewed. Score is currently therefore reviewed from CD appraisal only and is subject to revision.

Despite the film documenting a particularly petty and sick event in colonialism's history by way of a patchwork of interviews, graphics and reconstruction, Danny Elfman's score is one of his smoothest and entertaining on disc for some time. Much of the reason for this is that he has tapped into the style of his Serenada Schizophrana, introducing a more chamber-like sense of texture (often feeling sparse despite using a reasonably expansive orchestra) underpinned by gentle clockwork ostinato figures (occasionally the instrumentation alludes to the mechanical). This, together with a slightly wayward approach to styles, stretching from tinkling lullaby to Kingdomesque contemporary synth by way of Philip Glass, makes even the shorter tracks worth listening to, if only to their attention to detail.

Thematically we are on home territory. A beautiful and touching main SOP theme (deserving of varied reprisals), is supported by other innately Elfmanic material: the clarinet theme in 'Photos' (track 3) harks back to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, for example, and a few more menacing themes come very close to those from Sleepy Hollow. Both films leaned toward the creepy and childlike, and it is therefore unsurprising that in the setting of his Serenada style the overall effect is a touch surreal. Oddly for Elfman there is no chorus, although there are chorus-like synthesized 'hoots' on occasion, and this is indicative of his willingness in this score to introduce synth elements which sound as such.

Within this bracket there is much to play with and each track feels fresh, showing a composer alive to his subject matter, and with the sense of flow comes a more graspable experience without the aid of the visuals. The downside of the influence of Serenada, though, gradually becomes apparent: rather than an influence on the score, in retrospect the score appears to have been written around Serenada, with fragments from two movements reprised with slight tinkering (tracks 8 and 16). This is a dangerous ploy, and one wonders whose choice it was. Elfman's music has already been adapted for the underwater journey Deep Sea 3D. Thankfully most of the score is inventive enough to broaden the horizons of the Serenada rather than be manicled to them, and the arrangement of the tracks on disc seems a deliberate ploy to shift the influence left of field, but it is a close thing since Serenada is, for the reviewer, the stronger work, and SOP's running time and patchworked styles eventually counts against it in holding interest.

Verdict: An interesting work and worth the purchase for all the disappointing self plagiarism.

Score rating: --
CD release rating: * * *

On a side note this reviewer so grateful to Elfma in both The Kingdom and SOP for eschewing the 'ethnic' style tortured vocals and Enigma percussion. This has been criticised in the past but the effect is almost refreshing now that oud and wordless cries are used so often and lazily. Their use in Hulk, however, proved quite the reverse, being so evocative precisely due to its geographical/topical inappropriateness.