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“The musical score
for I AM LEGEND is a rarity in that the experience of it within the
film versus the score as a stand-alone listen are almost completely
divorced. Judging this score by your thoughts just after
watching the film would be a disservice to JAMES NEWTON HOWARD's score as well as to yourself!”
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Seen But Not Heard?
Review by Christopher Coleman
The end of 2007 found the
name of JAMES NEWTON HOWARD being seen over and over again in movie
credits. Already having released the surprisingly popular MICHAEL CLAYTON
score in October of 2007, December would see three more projects from
James Newton Howard: THE GREAT DEBATERS, WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP,
and perhaps the most highly anticipated of the bunch, I AM LEGEND.
As with so many recent
novel adaptations of recent memory, I AM LEGEND came under great scrutiny
due to the number of changes made to the original story. The casting of
actor Will Smith as the story's central figure, Robert Neville, was met
with both cheers and jeers. In the end, I AM LEGEND was, as described
very early on, a combination between the original novel and OMEGA MAN (a
film with Charleton Heston that scared this little kid quite badly) from
1971; another adaptation of author Richard Matheson's novel.
Hollywood's propensity
for reliance on 100% CG-characters is starting to bug audiences and
critical and popular reaction to the the film seem to reflect this. The
freedom this technology offers directors is certainly to be marveled at,
but, as real it can seem at times, its use to portray significant
characters, especially humans or humanoids, in a film can call too much
attention to itself - taking the audience right out of the movie.
Still, even with this being a pretty large negative of the film, there
remained plenty to like in I AM LEGEND to make it an enjoyable flick.
Will Smith's portrayal of Col. Robert Neville was much more dynamic and
well-rounded than one might expect for a sci-fi/action film.
Additionally, JAMES NEWTON HOWARD'S score, when present, stealthily
provided just the right ambience and emotion...and maybe too well. There
were very few moments in the film where I was even aware of the score (and
I'm always listening for it). The
musical score for I AM LEGEND is a rarity in that the experience of it within the
film versus the score as a stand-alone listen are almost completely
divorced. Judging this score by your thoughts just after
watching the film would be a disservice to JAMES NEWTON HOWARD's
score as well as to yourself!
Varese Sarabande's 42
minute-release would seem to be every note that was in the film...if not
more. Truthfully, I don't know how much score was actually in the
film, but I know this. I was conscious of musical score for perhaps 5
minutes while watching it - leading me to believe that there was hardly a
need for any sort of soundtrack release. I was wrong. Listening to
the score as released by Varese is an altogether different experience and
causes a rare feeling of wonder, "How did I miss all this in the
film?" Whether missing so much music is a good or bad thing, in terms of
how "good" or "effective" the score was, I'm not quite sure. Somehow
within the story and intensity of the film, JAMES NEWTOWN HOWARD's score
seems to get buried and that's something that rarely happens with one of
his works. Rarely overbearing, Howard's scores usually play their role
within the film successfully but, at least for those of us are mindful of
film music at all, his scores are also distinctive enough to be noticed
and appreciated while enjoying the film. So I AM LEGEND is a strange
case.
One thing that continues
to amaze me is JAMES NEWTON HOWARD's ability to weave so much emotion into
his music without becoming repetitive. He continues to maximize his
talent for mesmerizing music in I AM LEGEND. A sad, but heroic theme for
the story's central character is established right off in track 1, "My
Name is Robert Neville." It's another lush and wondrous piece that can
sit right along side his excellent work in LADY IN THE WATER or KING
KONG. Howard works this theme to near perfection in "Evacuation" (3)
where strings, choir, and deep electronic percussion weave a menacing
tapestry yet without sacrificing beauty. The fact is whenever he employs
this main theme, the score really takes off. Check out: "Sam's Gone" (6)
and "Epilogue" (13) for further convincing. Of course I AM LEGEND is not
all about beautiful, little diddies underscoring a man and his dog
trekking through the wilds of Manhattan. There some serious baddies out
there in "the city" and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD is able to indulge his
appetite for a good action sequence too. Among the most thrilling of the
short bunch is "Darkseeker Dogs" (5) and "The Jagged Edge" (10), where we
hear some other Howard-staples: low-freq. electronics, driving
percussion, blaring brass, and dissonant strings. By the end of the
soundtrack, you should feel like you have had a pretty balanced listening
experience. There's beauty and there's beast well represented in this
score and, if you are like me and didn't quite catch the brilliance of
this score in the context of the film, don't make the mistake of missing
it again on the soundtrack release.
Rating: 8/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
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1 |
May Name is
Robert Neville |
2:51 |
**** |
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2 |
Deer Hunting |
1:17 |
**** |
|
3 |
Evacuation |
4:27 |
***** |
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4 |
Scan
Her
Again |
1:42 |
*** |
|
5 |
Darkseeker
Dogs |
2:17 |
**** |
| 6 |
Sam's Gone |
1:48 |
**** |
| 7 |
Talk to Me |
0:56 |
*** |
| 8 |
The Pier |
5:17 |
**** |
| 9 |
Can They Do That? |
2:09 |
*** |
| 10 |
I'm Listening |
2:10 |
**** |
| 11 |
The Jagged Edge |
5:16 |
**** |
| 12 |
Reunited |
7:50 |
**** |
| 13 |
I'm Sorry |
2:22 |
*** |
| 14 |
Epilogue |
4:13 |
**** |
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Total Running Time (approx) |
45 minutes |
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