CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD REVIEW - DEADLINE


Deadline
Music by Carlos Jose Alvarez
MovieScore Media MMS10014
20 Tracks 47:39 mins

MovieScore Media presents young American composer Carlos Jose Alvarez's film scoring debut with their release of his music for the film which will always be remembered sadly as the last made by tragic young actress Brittany Murphy, and the album is duly dedicated to her memory.
Born of Cuban immigrants, Alvarez studied at Berklee College of Music, where he earned his degree in Film Scoring before going to study under Michalis Economou with the Athens Symphony Orchestra. Now resident in LA, much is expected of this young composer, who also happens to be an accomplished percussionist.
Deadline is a supernatural thriller, but the elegance of much of Alvarez's writing gives the film an emotional quality often absent from other genre efforts, reminding somewhat of Bernard Herrmann in his use of strings.
The lush "Main Titles" theme gets things off to a nice start, with "Lucy and David" continuing in more subdued vein, but with strings, including soloist, continuing to make their presence felt. Piano joins with the strings for "The House;" "First Morning;" the poignant "Medication;" with harp prominent on "What if Ben Finds Out." And the emotional strings of "Miscarriage," give way to a more purposeful conclusion.
Of course, this is a thriller, and so there are suitably dramatic, mysterious, suspenseful, menacing and shocking moments, as in "Somebody Died Here;" "Haunted Piano;" "Taking a Bath;" "An Attempt to Escape;" "Transformation;" "But I Belong to You," with its dark, dissonant conclusion, following an emotion-filled opening; ""The Drowning;" "Following Lucy;" "Burial Site;" and the frantic "Lucy Saves Alice." But, whatever the situation, the composer continues to place the emphasis on strings.
The album concludes with the six-minute "Deadline (Suite for Orchestra)," which reprises and expands upon the composer's main thematic material.
With so many genre scores sounding the same these days, it's rare to hear a fully orchestral, well-written score like this. OK, it's themes are perhaps not the most memorable, but it creates an effective mood and, I should imagine, enhances the on-screen action.
Go to www.moviescoremedia.com/deadline.html for samples, a trailer for the film, and details as to how to order your copy of the album on CD or as a digital download.