CD REVIEW - JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT


Journey to the End of the Night
Music by Elia Cmiral
Perseverance PRD 030 (US)
24 Tracks 42:51 mins

This Brazilian-set 2006 crime thriller stars Brendan Fraser, Mos Def, Scott Glenn, Alice Braga and Catalina Sandino Moreno and features music by Elia Cmiral, who in recent years has been somewhat typecast in horror movies, producing seemingly endless unmelodious atmospheric scores that, whilst suitable for the films they accompany, make for pretty uninspiring listening on disc. So, I was looking forward to something of a departure from the composer, especially as melody was promised in the publicity.
Well, the good news is that there is melody; though few of his themes really hold the attention, save for the opening theme, first heard in "Prologue," a rather tragic sounding piece, with a lament for strings and solo voice, which sounds female, but which is credited to Kevyn Letta. This underlying feeling of tragedy is present throughout the score which, though it features the Orchestra.Net Prague and percussion by M.B. Gordy (most prominent in the likes of "Street Rage," "City Pursuit" and "Motorycle Chase"), is pretty much dominated by tense and atmospheric electronic soundscapes, care of the composer and David Glen Russell, with the result that, despite the return of the opening theme in redemptive style for the closing "Leaving Sao Paolo," at the end of the day, it's still pretty hard to appreciate away from the film. Different in style somewhat to the horror scores, but still unable really to hold the attention for much of its playing time.
Still, it's nice to see the composer working in a different genre, even if the film seems to have slipped under the radar, thus not helping him garner other more diverse assignments.
Accompanying the disc is a colourful 12-page booklet, featuring stills from the film, detailed notes on the film, its composer and score, plus a note from director Eric Eason, and music credits.
Order your copy of this limited edition release of just 500 units by going to www.perseverancerecords.com.