Review
This score tells its story – creates its world – within the hearer even if they haven’t seen the film, such as myself. Mansell’s skill with the strings is on full display here; in “The Last Man” the solo violin sounds as though it were speaking its tragic tale to the listener. In general, it's a minimal soundtrack, with several tracks lending themselves well to loop during Pomodoro work sessions. According to Wikipedia, The Fountain film had major growing pains. Originally, it was slated to have a $70M budget and Mansell planned to use only percussion instruments on the score for the romantic epic. Things didn’t work out and director Darren Aronofsky scaled it back to a $35M film. Mansell’s score also became more intimate as a result, and boy, am I glad, because it’s the use of strings, piano, and electronic instruments, along with the celesta, glockenspiel, and guitars, that make this soundtrack beautiful and unique. There are still a few intense and harder-to-listen tracks, such as “Holy Dread!” and “Tree of Life,” which contain some heavy percussion and shrill sounds. In addition to “The Last Man,” “Stay with Me” and “Death Is the Road to Awe” are also meditative and beautiful, crafted with the help of the Kronos Quartet, who previously worked with Mansell on Requiem for a Dream. Mansell also recorded music from the Scottish band Mogwai for the score. The final track (“Together We Will Live Forever”) is a gorgeous minimal piano rendition of the themes, played by pianist Randy Kerber. Give this album a listen all the way through to feel the emotional story it tells, and then settle into some reading, writing, or office work with “The Last Man” on loop.
Review by the_strong_writer.