Hostage

Track Listing

01 - Child's Spirit (1:50)

02 - Hostage (2:52)

03 - Canyon Inn (1:48)

04 - The Watchman (2:47)

05 - The Waterfall (1:52)

06 - Crawl Space (1:33)

07 - Talley's Theme (2:59)

08 - Drive (1:32)

09 - Breaking In (4:30)

10 - The House (2:20)

11 - Tommy's Theme (1:41)

12 - The Secret Place (3:29)

13 - House on Fire (5:33)

14 - The Negotiation (4:02)

15 - The Choice (1:21)

16 - Talley's Plan (2:01)

17 - Screens & Shades (1:06)

18 - FBI (1:29)

19 - Mar's Theme (2:41)

20 - The Trade (1:54)

21 - The Killer (1:59)

22 - Captain Wooba (4:59)

23 - Talley's Family (2:52)

24 - Child's Spirit (Extended) (2:31)

Orchestrated and Conducted by Alexandre Desplat

Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

Produced by Alexandre Desplat

Released by Superb Records on June 7th, 2005

Total Running Time: 61:52

The latest Bruce Willis action vehicle sports a rather interesting score by the up-and-coming Alexandre Desplat. Deplat, whose career film-wise has consisted of such films as Birth and The Girl With a Pearl Earring, takes quite a turn genre-wise with this film (though he was responsible for scoring the cinematics for the game Splinter Cell). The result is an action/thriller score that doesn’t quite fit the mold that so many others have done in the past.

Opening with “Child’s Spirit”, the score instantly makes an impression with the eerie wailings of Desplat’s daughter, Antonia. This gives the distinct impression that this film possesses something more than the familiar trappings of the action/thriller genre, as this cue sounds like it would be more at home in The Ring or some similar film. This tone is generally adhered to throughout the run of the score, primarily in the atmospheric cues that make up everything except the action sequences. The next track, “Hostage”, sets up the main ideas that make up this score, contrasting the eerie string and vocal work with the harsh percussion and brass moments that typify the action cues.

It’s interesting in the direction that Desplat has taken with this score. Forsaking the pseudo-Media Ventures sound that has become the de facto standard in recent years, the more conventional aspects of this score (for the genre at least) come across as conventions that were followed in the 50s and 60s. It makes for a terrific break from an electronically pumped-up orchestral style that has been done to death and gives great interest to what would otherwise be a bland assortment of action cues scattered about the horror sounding atmospheric moments. Electronic elements do seem to exist in slight form within the quieter, tension-building cues, but are left by the wayside in the action cues, an interesting reversal of the usual process.

Ultimately, one’s enjoyment from this score will depend on the mood of the listener. As an action score, the supernatural horror elements sound out of place, and while this may be a function of the film itself, those who are not familiar with the film may find themselves slightly perplexed. Still, Desplat should earn kudos for simply having the courage to find his own voice within what would seem to be a typical Bruce Willis film journey.