by nuts_score on 11/27/2006
favorite track: 9
 
I purchased this score the morning after seeing the film and - at this moment - it's hard to pull it away from my ears. Mansell is on my sh!t-list of composers; only Sahara and the Kronos Quartet portions of Requiem for a Dream stand out to me. Like Requiem, this score also utilizes the awesome talent of Kronos Quartet and along with their work with Philip Glass and Elliot Goldenthal, this is my favorite. Anything they perform sounds magical, and the awesome thematic of Mansell's music adds to what they have. The use of avant post-rock group Mogwai is also noteworthy as their dynamic guitars and melodic bass add to the overall nature of the darker sections of the score. I'm noticing perhaps three main themes that intertwine to form the overall thematic nature of the work. Some pieces may remind you of Zimmer's guitar work in Mission: Impossible 2 and later repeated in Steve Jablonsky's The Island. Many of the darker, more action-inspired pieces remind me of Elliot Goldenthal and Robert Elhai orchestrations: the guitars of the rock group provide a dramatic backdrop to the Quartet's string work. This can especially be heard in the tracks "Holy Dread!" and "Tree of Life." The final cue from the film exists on the album as "Death is the Road to Awe," it features a tense string adagio of the primary theme ("The Fountain Theme" perhaps?) and leads into Mogwai's drums and guitars as they lead into a light choral backdrop set to the theme played at a different tempo and arpeggio out into a beautiful display of all the talent involved with this score. Overall it's haunting work, and the themes are so simple and memorable that I guarantee and listening of the soundtrack and appreciation of the film will have you humming them at work. The album closes with the cue that plays over the end credits. Mogwai's Randy Kerber beautifully performs the score's main themes on piano as we're left in awe.