Inception Composed by Hans Zimmer
Watertower Music (2010)
Rating:
8/10
Soundclips below from AmazonMP3
“ Christopher
Nolan's projects lend themselves well to the type of music the HANS
ZIMMER excels in these days; dark, pulsating mixes of the natural
and synthetic sound that is at once other-worldly yet still
embraceable. ”
Theme-weaver
Review by Christopher Coleman
I, like a few others, set director Christopher Nolan's latest project,
INCEPTION, as the film that would save the Summer of 2010. Given Nolan's track-record with efforts like MEMENTO, THE PRESTIGE, and THE
DARK KNIGHT, there was good reason to do so. That amount of
collective expectation; however, normally crushes the feeble foundations of most
Hollywood, Summer movies. But that's actually where Nolan's strengths lie. His films,
including INCEPTION, are built upon the foundation of solid storylines,
compelling characters, and mind-bending concepts.
INCEPTION doesn't buckle under this weight. It thrives. While most Summer
blockbusters go for high-tech, visual, cheap thrills - the type that so many are
quite happy to plop their hard earned money down on, Nolan says to us, "Let me
entertain your brain. Let me dazzle your eyes and ears. Let me give you an
experience that will stay in your psyche long after you have vacated the theatre
(...or at least until you return to see it again, that is).
While Nolan's early career found him paired with composer David Julyan, as the
scope and gravitas of his projects grew, he has formed a new
collaborative partnership with HANS ZIMMER. With BATMAN: BEGINS and THE DARK
KNIGHT under their belts, (with notable contribution from JAMES NEWTON HOWARD) the two come together again to tell a doomed-love-story against the
ultimate in corporate cloak and dagger, all while exploring the psychological
realm of the dream. This unique concept opens the door to
creative sound and musical possibilities that are rarely approachable in studio
backed films. The end
result is a sublime musical experience that is so tightly woven into the fabric
of INCEPTION that it seldom, if ever, stands out on its own. At the same time,
something indescribable or even quantifiable would clearly be lost, if this
ZIMMER's score was
to be removed.
Musical expectations were set with the advent of the first teaser trailer
featuring a heavyweight track by composer MIKE ZARIN (Sencit Music). I have little
doubt that Nolan had much to do with this trailer for that reason alone (which
isn't always the case). He was preparing us; planting a seed, an idea, in our
collective minds; setting our expectations for INCEPTION. So the question that
naturally arose was, "What would Hans actually do?"
HANS ZIMMER's work for INCEPTION perfectly follows the tone established by
Zarin's teaser music. And, not surprisingly, goes on to deliver much more detail
and depth. Zimmer's score is founded upon two main ideas. First, we have the
main theme for INCEPTION which translates Zarin's original tone into a more forceful, orchestral experience. Although quite a few of the tracks contain
certain elements of the theme at large, tracks such as "Dream is Collapsing" (3) and
"Dream within a Dream" (9) are the boldest examples. Building from Johnny Marr's
simple, repetitive guitar licks to an ever expanding and deeping performance on
strings and blasts of brass, we finally reach the nearly iconic, bevy of
powerful, gutteral, orchestral hits. These are a collection of moments of the
sublime that few film scores dare to try and reach. Finally, in "Time"
(12), Zimmer delivers a hopeful variation on this indelible theme giving the
audience an odd sense of both resolution tinged with ambiguity.
The second musical tent-poll for INCEPTION is Zimmer's romantic element. What
could get lost amidst the film's intriguing concept and amazing visuals is the
fact that INCEPTION is also a story about a love lost; warranting a fairly
significant romantic component. What ZIMMER does so brilliantly is to blend a
sense of tragedy and mystery within this love theme; thereby integrating
it seamlessly into the weighty tone of the score. The idea of this
theme is Introduced in "We Built Our Own World "(2), yet we don't hear the central
melody until "Old Souls" 5) where it played on piano and then by Marr on guitar.
Again we hear the ghostly theme at the onset of "Waiting for a Train" (10)
before it makes a ominous transition into the main, dream theme again. With a title
theme as bone-jarringly aggressive as INCEPTION's, it shouldn't be overlooked
that Zimmer's love theme helps to bring balance to the listening
experience.
Now, the contribution of guitarist Johnny Marr has gotten the lionshare of media
attention, yet someone else's efforts for this score should be spotlighted. MEL
WESSON's sound palette created for this film goes a long way in making INCEPTION
what it is. Blurring the lines further between the acoustic and the synthetic,
sounds he created synthetically were then written out, performed by
the orchestra and recorded. That very choice undergirds one of the main ideas of
the film "What is real and what is not?" This is just the sort of brilliant
choice that we've come to expect from Christopher Nolan and those that he works
with...and why he is one of the few who actually deliver films that equal, if
not exceed, expectations.
Christopher Nolan's projects lend themselves well to the type of music the HANS
ZIMMER excels in these days - dark, pulsating mixes of the natural and synthetic
sound that is at once other-worldly yet still embraceable. INCEPTION features
one of the most well constructed and implemented scores of 2010 and it will be
difficult to top it. Certainly, one can find vestiges from the likes of THE THIN
RED LINE or THE LAST SAMURAI here, but those who enjoy Zimmer's work for THE DA VINCI CODE or THE
DARK KNIGHT, in particular, will be dreaming of the INCEPTION score for quite
some time.
