Soundtrack Review: Defiance (2008)
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This is a review of the motion picture score Defiance by James Newton Howard & Joshua Bell.
“James Newton Howard’s contribution is mostly second fiddle to Bell I feel, but he shouldn’t be underestimated as there are some great thematic and inspiring work which put James Newton Howard back on top where he belongs”
Some would say that James Newton Howard has had a strong 2008. I can’t say I agree with that, although there have been a couple of good efforts. From the abysmal The Happening to the outstanding collaboration with Hans Zimmer for The Dark Knight, he has had a rollercoaster of a year. This time he has gotten Joshua Bell to swing the violin and that is not a bad thing because Defiance has already been nominated for quite a few awards including best score at the Oscars. My peers has also put this one high up the ranks with very good scores, but is it all hype or is this the real thing?
Track list
- Defiance Main Titles (***)
- Survivors (****)
- Make Them Count (****)
- Your Wife (*****)
- The Bielski Otriad (***)
- Bella And Zus (***)
- Exodus (*****)
- Camp Montage (*****)
- The Wedding (***)
- Winter (***)
- Escaping The Ghetto (****)
- Police Station (***)
- Tuvia Kisses Lilka (*****)
- Nothing Is Impossible (*****)
- The Bielski Bros (*****)
Joshua Bell
Despite Joshua Bell’s efforts, the main title cue ‘Defiance Main Titles’ has to go down as possibly the weakest main theme in 2008. It can’t be called a theme to be honest, but it’s a decent cue with an angry Joshua Bell by the sound of it. Joshua Bell is clearly the star of this ensemble even though James Newton Howard is playing the main character. Bell’s wonderful skills with the violin can be heard throughout the score and gives an element of warmth and beauty to Defiance.
An example of that is the cue ‘Survivors‘ which had been terrible flat and boring without Joshua Bell’s haunting violin giving it the strength and warmth it needs. In ‘Make Them Count’ we hear the closest this soundtrack gets to a theme, and it’s thanks to James Newton Howard’s excellent underscoring of strings before a slightly more ominous percussion track takes over. Bell’s violin helps adding immense drama to this piece as well. ‘Your Wife’ is a very beautiful cue, a perfect collaboration of Howard’s stronger strings and Bell’s lonely violin. It hits something with me, a sweet spot which is hard to reach because of my high standards.
As good as some of these cues might be, there are a few that doesn’t quite reach the standards Howard and Bell has set in the beginning. ‘The Bielski Otriad’ for example has drama, but doesn’t quite do it for me. It is a bit messy and unfinished I feel and drags along without any momentum. ‘Bella and Zus’ was better the first time I heard it, perhaps because I am in love with Joshua Bell’s violin, but after a few listens I think it’s so-so. ‘The Wedding’ could have been gorgeous if the melody itself was better, but as it stands, even Bell’s violin can’t save it from mediocrity. ‘Winter‘ is a bit lifeless for a while, then it picks up but ends where it really should have begun. ‘Police Station’ is another cue where we hear the theme introduced in ‘Make Them Count’, but it’s a rather uninspiring bass drumfest that has dramatic flair but fails to impress.
Many Highlights
Luckily the highlights are many and it’s understandable that the film score to Defiance is nominated for an Oscar. ‘Exodus‘ impresses with Joshua Bell’s violin solos and James Newton Howard’s great attempt at a theme. ‘Camp Montage’ is another winner with soft strings and horn gives this piece a very nice emotional attachment. With ‘Escaping the Ghetto’ you can’t be fooled no more as it’s quite clear what cues are the better ones on the Defiance soundtrack. It is the emotional ones with long strings coupled with an excellent solo violin by Joshua Bell. The ending with the three cues ‘Tuvia Kisses Lilka’, ‘Nothing is Impossible’ and ‘The Bielski Bros’ just strengthens the belief that this is a beautiful piece of work.
Conclusion
With one stroke of the violin, Joshua Bell has to take a lot of the credit into making Defiance the great score that it is. You only have to listen to his haunting and warm violin and how it works so well in this context. James Newton Howard’s contribution is mostly second fiddle to Bell I feel, but he shouldn’t be underestimated as there are some great thematic and inspiring work which put James Newton Howard back on top where he belongs.
Listen to Defiance by James Newton Howard & Joshua Bell below:
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Soundtrack Seek
This is a very nice score to be sure, with emotionally wrenching violin work by Bell and a very consistent tone. But it doesn’t really have a definite identity, thanks mainly to its muddled themes. The result is that the score becomes a tad anonymous. I’m not saying the score HAD to be Schindler’s List (or could have been), but it should’ve taken a note from that score (or even Howard’s own violin-dominated score for the Village) and learned that strongly defined themes are key to prevent all-pervasive familiarity.
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Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 8th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
You are right. It lacks an identity, a really strong presence in for example a great theme. This is a score you can listen to and enjoy immensely, but nothing that sticks in your head. Still, I will take a score with great cues and not a strong identity over a score with an amazing main theme and not much substance anywhere else any day of the week.
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