Published on Jul 19, 2001
A lot of the reviews I’ve read for
A.I., the latest film from director extraordinaire Steven
Spielberg, have been lukewarm at their best. I have not seen the
film (nor, do I plan to – sorry, Steve, but my money is invested in
my future from here on in), but I find it interesting to compare
what I’ve read about the film to the soundtrack composed by John
Williams.
With the movie, the story has taken a bit of a beating, though
the effects are said to be outstanding. With the music, the overall
vibe is not the strongest body of work that Williams has created
over the years, but it is the performance of two vocalists who
absolutely save the day.
For a movie set in the not-too-distant future, one would expect
Williams’s score to have a futuristic feel to it. Regrettably, this
is not the case for the first half of the soundtrack. Tracks like
“The Mecha World,” “Replicas” and “Hide And Seek” all sound like
they have aspects which were cast-offs from
E.T.,
Jaws or even
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. They’re almost typical
Williams fare – normally a compliment, but in this case, it almost
feels like the subject matter demanded more. When the futuristic
elements do kick in on “The Moon Rising,” it becomes clear what the
body of this score desparately needed.
The second half of
A.I., however, is absolutely magical – thanks to the
otherworldly vocals from Barbara Bonney. It almost is reminiscent
of the most poignant scenes from
Dead Man Walking, and sets a mood of faith overcoming
hopelessness or impending doom. Such moments can easily bring a
tear to one’s eye, even if you don’t exactly know what the
corresponding action is in the movie. This is what Williams is
known for: painting a picture you don’t have to see to
understand.
The other vocalist who makes
A.I. a work of art is Lara Fabian, whose performance of “For
Always” sent shivers up my spine. Here’s hoping that it doesn’t get
turned into the “My Heart Will Go On” of 2001 – namely, a pretty
song that got more airplay than reruns of “I Love Lucy”. I don’t
quite understand why a second version of “For Always” was needed to
round out this disc, but the duet between Farian and Josh Groban is
just as pretty, if not as enthralling.
Music From The Motion Picture A.I. is a soundtrack that
presents Williams in two distinct modes – sticking with what’s
comfortable, and pushing the envelope to challenge the listener’s
emotions and minds. If only more of the latter had been featured,
this disc would have been absolutely magical. As it stands, it has
some very absorbing moments, but doesn’t quite measure up to
Williams’s best work.