Beautiful, Haunting, and Powerful
5
By McComposer
All of the colors, feelings, and subtle emotions of the characters in the 2006 film “The Fountain” are reflected in the movie's soundtrack by Clint Mansell, a masterful work of art spanning a thousand years. From the golden-laden shots of Xibalba, the dying star, to the murky and dark 1500's world set during the Spanish Inquisition, to the tragic lives of the doctor and his wife in 2005, Mansell paints a musical portrait mirroring the film itself. The resulting sound is one that varies between its ideas and design, often masterfully. What follows is my somewhat-complete analysis of Mansell's work. Know that you can ignore it, or you can or read and consider it. But don't take it seriously unless you want to engage yourself in in-depth analysis of this music. But if you're here for the listening experience, it's a very recommendable score, but in terms of the film, it becomes all the more powerful. Either way, this is a very recommendable work of art.
One thing to remember about Mansell's approach to “The Fountain” is that it works far better as a piece of work reflecting its characters, and not setting the mood or locale of the situation. In the composer's words, he wanted to create a score possessing elements with "a real human element to them that breathes." From this viewpoint, one can safely overlook several inaccuracies in the resulting forty-six minutes of music that is heard on the album.
The clearest example of this behavior lies in Mansell's approach to the story set during the Spanish Inquisition. Instead of giving the tale a Spanish flavor and adding a full orchestral ensemble to establish the morbid atmosphere as seen onscreen, Mansell's primary performers are the Scottish rock band Mogwai, slamming away on drums and ripping through the layers with electric guitars. They create a sound that is completely unrelated to the setting. If fact, this noise could be compared to Tyler Bates's thrash But when viewed as a representation of a character's feelings, or as a way to establish an atmosphere, the music for these sections succeeds.
Faint electronics and subdued guitars, as well as light performances from the Kronos Quartet join together to represent the modern, 2005 lifestyle with the occasional piano performance to accentuate the romantic tone of the story. The work here by Tommy the scientist is not reflected in these sections: rather, the music concentrates on the emotions that he feels as he painstakingly researches the cure for his wife's disease.
Mansell's third approach to “The Fountain” is the most attractive of his three approaches to the storyline. The rock elements are filtered out, and the choir is prominently featured in these portions, of which the entire length of “Xibalba” is the pinnacle. The choir often wafts around the orchestral accompaniment, giving the astronaut's journey a semi-religious touch.
Mansell's themes for “The Fountain” are fairly obvious, but all more than suffice. They begin with the main theme, a rising three-note motif that extends from a repeating five note motif and that evolves as the score progresses (first heard in full during “First Snow”). This beautiful melody played solely on the violin, rarely shared by any other member of the ensemble. One could argue that each one of the three notes was meant to represent one of the different time periods, and that the theme moving upwards represents the change in the time periods. If you're just interested in hearing the music for enjoyment purposes however, you will get more than enough enjoyment out of listening to the progressions of this beautiful theme.
The love theme for the couples (or, more accurately, couple) a gorgeous theme whose performance in the final track is one of the score's highlights. It is vaguely hinted at in “Stay With Me”, then is absent from the rest of the recording until it is preformed on a sole piano in “Together, We Will Live Forever”, the magnificent end credits piece. It's a highlight cue from 2006, and, if one were to take just one cue from the album, this final cue is highly recommended.
As the finale of the film approaches and the stories on screen begin entwining further, Mansell's three different stylistic approaches begin to do the same, with the themes and instrumentation mingling in various outstanding ways, accurately depicting the on-screen merging of the three different stories,
The main theme, the theme for the Tree of Life, and several sub-themes all combine to form “Death Is the Road to Awe”, the massive climax of the score, which builds from soft performances of the main theme and the theme for the Tree of Life to two climaxes, each one serving the wrap up two elements of the storyline. The third climax, arriving at 7:36 into the cue, concludes all of the stories, tying then together with a force that will send your cat tearing out of the room.
On of the most remarkable things about Mansell's efforts for “The Fountain” is his ability to musically establish the three separate timelines for which the movie takes place in. Be it the gritty, rock approach to 1500's Spain, the more subdued, romantic ideas for the couple in 2005, or the gorgeous choral work for Tom the astronaut and the semi-religious element to his quest, Mansell's music sees the characters move throughout a spiritual and emotional journey that makes for a solid listening experience on album.
Whether you approach this score analytically or not, “The Fountain” is a wonderful work by Mansell, capturing the spirit of the film and reflecting upon the nature of its characters. As a standalone listening experience, it can fare for the better or the worse, depending upon your tolerance for rock tones and the occasionally sparse instrumentation. But overall, your mouse is begging you to pull a maneuver to the “purchase” button, and you will most likely be satisfied with the result.
