REVIEW: The Kingdom

If you mention the name Danny Elfman, the name Tim Burton usually isn't far behind. Sure, Elfman has created some of the most eclectic and wonderfully bizarre scores to match Burton's wild cinematic creations like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands. Some even recognized hints of that style in Elfman's scores for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. But if that's all you know of Elfman, you're missing the big picture. Time to look a little wider.

Spy Kids? Yup, that was Elfman. Charlotte's Web? Again, Elfman's subtle handiwork. Good Will Hunting? If you’d paid attention during the ’97 Academy Awards you would know he was nominated for that one. His latest work, the score for The Kingdom is yet another dimension of Elfman that few people appreciate. Action/thriller movies don't appear often on his resume, but when it comes to keeping the pace quick and the tension high, he knows exactly what he’s doing.

The score kicks off by displaying an array of distorted electric sounds set to a solid rhythm, starting with one and adding on more and more layers, one piece at a time. The electronic distortion becomes a critical element through most of the score. Sometimes it’s offered up in a softened form as in the slower, more graceful electric guitar solos and duets (“Waiting” and “Friendship”). Other times it’s a harsher, more percussive variation in the form of violent cacophonies of sound obviously meant to build suspense (“The Chase” and “Attack on the Compound”). Occasionally the distorted sound gives way to a simple muted effect, casting a sort of dream-like haze over the music (“The Marble”).

The style takes many forms, but there’s a definite sort of “interference” sound to the entire score, giving it an alien feeling. I found plenty of similarities to Elfman’s work in Burton’s remake of The Planet of the Apes and perhaps with good reason. Both films involve characters thrown into the intensities of a different world from their own. The music does its work well to convey that sense of the foreign and the unfamiliar.

Despite the movie being set in the Middle East, Elfman tends to stay away from any ethnic sounds or instruments, sticking instead to his collection of odd percussion and electric effects. It’s a nice touch, keeping the issue of ethnicities out of the music and sticking instead to layers of more universal techno sounds. The noticeable exceptions are brief moments where Elfman adds into the layers a simple Middle Eastern riff on a slightly distorted sitar (“To The Princes” and “The Sales Pitch”). It’s so subtle you might miss it while watching the movie, but as part of the score it’s a nice touch, a bit of a nod to the geography of the story.

While some of the slower pieces are nice to listen to, the rest of the score is so effective in creating suspense and tension, it’s not exactly what you’d want to have playing in the background while you’re cooking or trying to do homework. It’s definitely not something to have on in the car during rush hour traffic unless you really want to develop a small case of road rage. I’m getting nervous just sitting here listening to it as I’m trying to write. Still, it’s a good collection that fits its movie well, and in the end that’s what’s most important. If you’re an Elfman fan, pick yourself up a copy and enjoy yet another dimension of his work.

Reviewers Favorite Track: “The Sales Pitch” - It has a little bit of everything from other sections of the score, all rolled together in one track.