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Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Requiem for a Dream
(Nonesuch)
by Matthew Kent-Stoll
During one if the many scenes in Requiem for a Dream that was driven strongly by music (I believe the one where they take some pills to "kill time" and Jared Leto is doing a little bit of the DJ thang), my girlfriend leaned over to me and said, "We should pick up the soundtrack." Well, months later, it is at long last in my hands. And while in fairness I should add that I'm not really big on listening to movie scores, the music doesn't have quite the same impact it did while viewing the movie. Of course, when you take away the elements the music is to accompany, it's only natural to feel that something is missing. And that, I suppose, is why I own very few scores and soundtracks.
That said, Clint Mansell's score far exceeds the dull atmospherics prevalent in so many of today's movies. Working with the Kronos Quartet, Mansell veers between pounding techno, swelling string instrumentals and foreboding ambiance. It's urgent, dramatic material that becomes progressively darker, perfectly matching Aronofsky's direction. The opening track, "Summer Overture", sets the tone with dramatic strings, crunching percussion and melancholy synth sounds, giving a preview of all that is to come. From there the score leaps between hard techno on tracks like "Party", the urgent strings of "Fear" and "Full Tense", and the mournful tone of pieces like "Marion Barfs" (what a name!) and "Ghosts of a Future Lost". And then, when you think you may have found some kind of groove, it's blown apart by "Bial & Lox Conga" and "Bugs Got a Devilish Grin Conga", which I can only describe as insane, evil circus music. The only moment of real peace comes at the very end, with the tranquil ocean sounds of "Coney Island Low". Of course, that all comes after every character's life has turned to shit.
Now this is a well-written score that definitely captures Requiem's schizophrenic feel, and it does make me want to see that movie again (I guess I'm due for some emotional bruising), but I'm not so sure I can endorse it as a stand-alone album. It's interesting enough, but not all that enjoyable. And when the songs are cut into one or two minute bits, it's rather hard to get into a flow. I suppose you could argue that you aren't supposed to get into a groove with this stuff, but it makes it rather hard to stay interested in the album. While it might not have been as "true" to the movie, it may have served the music better to have it presented in a different format on the album. Perhaps mixing the techno tracks together? Or maybe combining similar pieces into longer ones would have been effective. Then again, that might lose the point of it all. Who knows? I'm not being a very good critic here, but I feel increasingly fucked up and confused every time I listen to the score. And maybe that's the point, kids. Like the movie, this soundtrack is something you'll want to check out, but probably not expose yourself to over and over again.
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