Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Road by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (Review)


Nick Cave & Warren Ellis continue their collaboration with director John Hillcoat. Those familiar with their sound know just how amazing they are. Subtle and simple melodies echo powerful emotions through their scores. You won’t find a 70 piece orchestra here. Their most notable scores are The Proposition and the masterpiece that is The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.


The Road is the most recent Cormac McCarthy novel adaptation. A haunting and harrowing look into human nature in a post apocalyptic world. It contains everything of the genre but is presented in a much more quieter way. This is not Mad Max. The main theme is somewhat reminiscent of Eric Satie in that it’s a minimalist piano tune. Of course it’s backed by that signature violin that has become the Cave & Ellis sound. Tracks like “The Road” and “The Mother” have a nurturing and hopeful tone, and that sets up our main characters on their journey. Within the score you will also find some terrifying music; atmospheric horror that will make your tear up, put a knot in your stomach and tingle your spine. If I had to compare the style it would be to Akira Yamaoka’s work on the Silent Hill franchise. “The House” and “The Cellar” are quite unsettling tracks to listen to and even more so if you’ve seen the film. While the score plunges into a hellish nightmare at times it resurfaces back to that nurturing beauty towards the end.


This is an amazing score. It is nothing short of brilliant and stands up with their previous work as something all film enthusiasts should take note of. While it may be less thematic and more atmospheric than their previous work it doesn’t change the fact that this score will emotionally move and stir you in a profound way.

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