by Crono on 10/6/2001
 
"Welcome to Panama, Casablanca without heroes."

After a three year absence, director John Boorman (Excalibur, Deliverance, and Beyond Rangoon) comes back to the silver screen with a tale of espionage, lies and everything in between. Based on a novel of the same name by John Le Carré, "The Tailor of Panama" tells the story of Andy Osnard, a disgraced MI-6 agent (played brilliantly by 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan); Harry Pendel, a well known tailor (also brilliant), portrayed by Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, and Pendel's wife, Louisa Pendel, a government employee, played by Jamie Lee Curtis in another great performance.

Shaun Davey, a largely unknown composer who began working in 1990, became somewhat known with his score to the off-beat comedy Waking Ned Devine. Davey then composed the music for the 2000 TV series "David Copperfield" and then into scoring The Tailor of Panama. John Boorman is known for his use of music in his films (not to mention exotic locations) and did a great thing in selecting Davey over the regular crowd in the melting pot of Hollywood composers.

Davey's score to Tailor is one of the most refreshing scores this year. The Panamanian/Spanish-influences music is excellent and brilliantly performed (by The Irish Film Orchestra, no less).

The opening track, "Harry Pendel, The Tailor of Panama," begins like a marching band with drums and a flute, then sweeps the listener into a great orchestral performance of the main title using a few ethnic instruments. The main title reappears throughout the score with varying degrees of tone, from the light hearted to the devilishly dark. Including the main theme, the score itself is largely influenced by the music of Panama and the surrounding Central American countries. While other Spanish-influenced scores have been released these past few years (The Mask of Zorro and MI: 2) Panama beats them all in originality. The score also has some playful tracks as well - the story itself has comical moments and it helps that the music plays to that effect. One of the more humorous tracks on the disc is "The Vibrating Bed." While it still keeps the essence of the score it also really plays with the listener (and audience for that matter).

The finale of the disc comes in tracks 13 to 16. While the whole score is great, these last few tracks really pack a punch. "Harry's Drive Through the Carnival" includes one of the best performances of the main theme, once again using ethnic instruments, and just blows the listener, for behind the grand mask of the music, there is also a deeper sadness. Track 14 is, for the most part, a violin piece with some background orchestra, somewhat of a transitional track between 13 and 15 - this track carries more of the dark tone heard in track 13. Toward the end of track 14, the pace picks up, giving us a glimpse of what is to come both on disc and screen. Track 15 is the big finale track where the whole score (and film) come together. Davey once again uses his fresh sound to create some great chase music. It is a stunning track that also works effectively in the film. Last but not least is track 16. I find this the best closing track of 2001 (next to the last track from Atlantis: The Last Empire). The track provides an epilogue and then gives you one more surprise. The performance by vocalist Rita Connolly is superb. She presents a vocal performance of the theme that is absolutely stunning (and chilling) and a great close to the disc.

I must confess, I bought the score before I saw the film, and upon being very impressed with the score drove me to see the film when it was released on DVD. A truly enjoyable film with a great score, I hope we hear from Shaun Davey for many years to come. He is truly a fresh voice in the melting pot of all film composers. And a final word to the score: before I bought it, I read reviews in depth about it saying how good it was, a few sites said "the score is very much a guilty pleasure" - I can say that it is indeed.

As to my favorite track, it runs the length of tracks 13-16.