K-Pax
Edward Shearmur
" Makes your float 1,000 of you light-years away "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
K-Pax of director Ian Softley (starring Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey) is an interesting science fiction film that answers just about the same amount as the questions it doesn't. Meaning, you have to fill in the blanks and let your imagination take the better of you, or you take the hints that are scattered throughout the movie for the truth they appear to be. It's a good movie for a watch that definitely got its back from the amazing trailer (using Apollo 13 above anything else). And considering I said Ian Softley, some people should already know that Edward Shearmur was the man behind the music. In fact it was Shearmur's breakthrough score.
And that leads us to the point as to determine why? Well besides captivating the interesting movie with a nicely supportive score, it also has a very nice attentive main theme. Opening a mysterious sounding "Grand Central", it soon leads us to the charming piano led main theme. Second to that is the opposite theme of that tranquility, namely a bouncy rhythmic theme that puts us immediately on the ground again.
"Good Morning Bess" likes to toy around with the piano, putting the main theme through a couple of variations, while "Taxi Ride" throws in a couple ambient galactic space sounding effects around the beat of the secondary theme. "Constellation Lyra" puts a dash of mystery to the whole story with a surging string magnificence (and a variation on the main theme), "Bluebird" reprises the main theme in general and "Sarah" has a brief solo vocal followed by more tantalizing meandering string work. In fact the effect becomes even stronger in the enticing "New Mexico" when again the solo vocal, a nice version of the main theme on violin and accompanying meandering string work show us the real deal of K-Pax.
The urgency becomes important in "July 27th", showing for the first time a sense of slightly disturbing feelings. The main theme might predict a feeling of closure after that, but only for those who remembered all the clues the movie left behind. "Coda" closes the score with a soothing piano piece, working around the main theme with many relaxing variations.
K-Pax is a relaxing listening experience, extremely comfortable and quite effective for the motion picture it supports. And on disc it doesn't do it badly at all. The main theme is the theme that ties it all together, the theme that gives the story its emotional connection. Around that Shearmur unleashes a series of rhythmic beats that show us Prot's curiosity about the world he's discovering. And when from time to time a solo vocal encourages us to dig deeper, you always discover that the movie is all about depth. And it is that depth that encourages us to see the truth behind the story. K-Pax is lovely to see and lovely to listen to. While not exposing ourselves to the entire voice of Edward Shearmur, it is definitely a voice I miss today. Strange feeling.
Tracklisting
1. Grand Central (4.40)
2. Good Morning Bess (2.49)
3. Taxi Ride (3.52)
4. Constellation Lyra (2.43)
5. Bluebird (3.54)
6. 4th of July (4.16)
7. Prot Missing (2.32)
8. Sarah (3.05)
9. New Mexico (6.26)
10. Powell's Return (1.13)
11. July 27th (4.42)
12. Coda (3.20)
Total Length: 43.45
And that leads us to the point as to determine why? Well besides captivating the interesting movie with a nicely supportive score, it also has a very nice attentive main theme. Opening a mysterious sounding "Grand Central", it soon leads us to the charming piano led main theme. Second to that is the opposite theme of that tranquility, namely a bouncy rhythmic theme that puts us immediately on the ground again.
"Good Morning Bess" likes to toy around with the piano, putting the main theme through a couple of variations, while "Taxi Ride" throws in a couple ambient galactic space sounding effects around the beat of the secondary theme. "Constellation Lyra" puts a dash of mystery to the whole story with a surging string magnificence (and a variation on the main theme), "Bluebird" reprises the main theme in general and "Sarah" has a brief solo vocal followed by more tantalizing meandering string work. In fact the effect becomes even stronger in the enticing "New Mexico" when again the solo vocal, a nice version of the main theme on violin and accompanying meandering string work show us the real deal of K-Pax.
The urgency becomes important in "July 27th", showing for the first time a sense of slightly disturbing feelings. The main theme might predict a feeling of closure after that, but only for those who remembered all the clues the movie left behind. "Coda" closes the score with a soothing piano piece, working around the main theme with many relaxing variations.
K-Pax is a relaxing listening experience, extremely comfortable and quite effective for the motion picture it supports. And on disc it doesn't do it badly at all. The main theme is the theme that ties it all together, the theme that gives the story its emotional connection. Around that Shearmur unleashes a series of rhythmic beats that show us Prot's curiosity about the world he's discovering. And when from time to time a solo vocal encourages us to dig deeper, you always discover that the movie is all about depth. And it is that depth that encourages us to see the truth behind the story. K-Pax is lovely to see and lovely to listen to. While not exposing ourselves to the entire voice of Edward Shearmur, it is definitely a voice I miss today. Strange feeling.
Tracklisting
1. Grand Central (4.40)
2. Good Morning Bess (2.49)
3. Taxi Ride (3.52)
4. Constellation Lyra (2.43)
5. Bluebird (3.54)
6. 4th of July (4.16)
7. Prot Missing (2.32)
8. Sarah (3.05)
9. New Mexico (6.26)
10. Powell's Return (1.13)
11. July 27th (4.42)
12. Coda (3.20)
Total Length: 43.45