November 18, 2008

• Review: Max Payne (Beltrami/Sanders)

  For those tired of being interactive with their video game, the new film adaptation Max Payne allowed for a particular live-action view point.  The storyline for Max Payne is much like the comic book character The Punisher, though this time it’s a maverick cop out to track down and revenge the murderer of his family and partner.  Beltrami has invited his assistant, Buck Sanders, to take partial credit for the score cues here (Dennis Smith is also given an “additional music” credit.  Sanders has worked on programming synthesizers and occasional additional cues for Beltrami over the past ten years and has scored a few films of his own including more recently The Hurt Locker.  The score is for string orchestra with harp, and horns, trombones, and percussion and a detuned piano.

  The disc starts with a slowly unfolded melodic idea in “Max Attacks” that disappears briefly to make room for electronic pulses.  This pattern continues underneath a texture that is mostly atonal, filled with small dissonant ideas with a modern rock beat.  It takes a while before a slowly climbing chromatic idea asserts itself in low strings with brass taking it on towards the end of the track.  The score will take on aspects of Beltrami’s horror style with hints at his action music style.  Predominantly filled with ambient sounds and other electronic ideas sometimes communicating the character as a contemporary James Bond, Max Payne can be a difficult but always fascinating listen.  When the sweeping melodic idea appears in “Investigations,” we are back on firmer Beltrami territory with an idea reminiscent of his work in Mimic.  For the most part, the score is filled with odd sounds mixed with some action music that alternates with brief moments of intrigue.  The drum machine sounds too artificial though in this texture for some reason sometimes to distraction.  “No Respects For You” is a calm in the storm with subtle harp and string writing surrounded by ambient sounds as the thematic idea is more exposed.  It offers a welcome respite from the harsher moments of the score surrounding this track but the second half of the disc leans toward more lyric and tonal writing.  “Window Payne” is the beginning of this shift on the disc which features the closest Beltrami sound in terms of thematic statements and orchestration.  It marks a turning point in the disc which moves to a gentle, and quite beautiful thematic statement in “Dark Heaven.” 

  Max Payne turns out to have a mixture of the thematic lines of other Beltrami scores coupled with a greater exploration of electronics than he has used in the past (perhaps Sanders contribution).  There is a coldness to the score appropriate for the film perhaps, but which might be harder to engage taken on its own.  Still, Beltrami fans will find much to recommend this score for them and should enjoy the second half of the disc the most.  Clips are available at the label’s website:  www.lalalandrecords.com.

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