Music Composed by Jon Brion
Rating: ****

When Paul Anderson brought the man who produced the bulk of Aimee Mann’s songs on to score his Mann-fixated 1999 film, Magnolia, I doubt he realized the firecracker of a composer he was lighting. Now, only a handful of scores later (namely, the staggeringly bizarre Punch-Drunk Love and the slightly demented but genuinely heartfelt Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind), it seems that Jon Brion has emerged as a rival to Carter Burwell’s throne as reigning composer supreme over independent art-house films. These early scores were not without their rough and underdeveloped edges, but the sparks of a truly unique talent have always been clear. Now, with Brion’s latest oddball adventure in I Heart Huckabees, it seems that those sparks have lit a fire that has burned away the rough edges and left a glistening polished jewel – this is a score that shows Brion strutting with the confidence of a composer who’s fully hit his stride. Drawing in everything that sparkled from his previous scores, Brion has crated brilliant piece of kitschy dementia that both nails the film dead-on and makes for a splendid album in its own right.

Jon Brion

For those who have not had the pleasure of experiencing this gem, I Heart Huckabees is a wonderfully quirky comedy (of sorts) from director David Russell about, among other things, a disillusioned young man who hires a team of existentialist detectives to investigate his inner being. That may sound heady, and is likely the reason so many people have left the film irritated and confused, but at its heart the film is simply an earnest story about trying to find some sort of peace and acceptance with a society that has been consumed by banal and hypocritical conventions. It’s one of the finest films the year has seen so far, in no small part due to the fact that it manages a nimble tightrope walk over hilarity, bitterness, disillusionment, and ultimately hope, without once loosing its balance. And as enormous the talents of everyone else involved in this film are, I can’t imagine that balance would have been possible without Jon Brion’s pitch-perfect score that keeps tongue firmly planted in cheek without undermining the emotional gravity of the film.

Actually, “gravity” might not be the best word choice here, as more than anything else, Brion’s score is characterized by its lightheaded tone. Rather than use the music as an anchor to ground the film, the score works like a cluster of balloons that keeps the film elevated on its toes, reminding us not to take any of the heavy concepts or bitter undercurrents in the film too seriously. That isn’t to say that the music never embodies bitter emotions itself, but that it does so in such a lyrical and unassuming fashion that even the frustration and bitterness feel charming. Written for a small pop ensemble (and sprinkled with eccentric instrumental touches that only Brion could have concocted), the score could best be described as slightly off-kilter lovechild between Brion’s solo album (and by extension, Aimee Mann’s albums) and late 1960s kitschy pop. Not as eclectic or bizarre as Punch-Drunk Love, but flavored with water from the same demented well, Huckabees dances about with an ambivalent simplicity that puts any seemingly weighty theories in their place and catches the film’s heart without any pretensions.

Punctuating the album are five(ish) songs that Brion wrote and sang for the film. I imagine that many interested in the score alone will be tempted to program these tracks out, but in this particular case I’d strongly recommend against it. These are not vaguely “inspired by” numbers designed to bolster album sales, but integral pieces of the score’s fabric that are directly connected to the movie. Though none were ultimately used in the final cut, it’s clear where Brion intended to place each song in the narrative, as their deceptively simple lyrics provide better commentary on the film than anything I can write here. Taken together, the songs guide us through the personal journeys the characters take in the film, taking us from questioning frustration over the meaning of life in the opening “Knock Yourself Out,” to acceptance and optimism in the concluding “Get What it’s About.”

The melodies from the songs also provide the thematic material for the score itself, with the most stunning example occurring in “Omni”audio clip, a solo piano adaptation of “Knock Yourself Out” that transforms that song’s frustration into something strangely moving and even inspirational. Another nice touch comes at the very end of “Monday – End Credits,” where an instrumental version of the song, “Revolving Door,” transforms a bitter indictment of Jude Law’s shallow executive into a sympathetic and hopeful sendoff for the character. Outside of material revolving around the songs, two major themes dominate. The first, opening the score with “Monday,” is a blissfully mundane 60s pop waltz that I have since decided would make the perfect musical accompaniment for any of my banal everyday tasks. The theme appears twice more, once in the middle of the album (”Later Monday”) and once at the conclusion (”Monday (End Credits)”). The theme evolves with each reprise, maturing as the characters mature in the film. The second theme is more urgent and hard-edged, a driving quasi-salsa that appears first in “Strange Bath” but reaches its most explosive emotional impact in “Strangest Times”. Various charming vignettes and tangents also float about between the thematic statements (notably in the so-cheesy-it’s-psychotic “Huckabees Jingle”), but despite the eclectic nature of the score, everything gels together into a smoothly polished whole.

I imagine that it’s harder to find the right musical tone for a quirky art film like Huckabees than it is for virtually any major studio film. Not only is the composer given next to nothing in the way of budgetary resources, he/she is faced with the task of finding one defining interpretation for a story that the filmmakers frequently don’t entirely understand themselves. The most typical composer’s response to this situation is to write something sparse and anonymous, making no statement out of fear of making the wrong statement. What makes the score for Huckabees so special is the fact that the composer seems to have understood the point of the film better than the director himself and was not afraid to write a score with a meaningful presence in the film. It’s music that induces the same lightheaded serenity that one gets from getting hit repeatedly on the forehead with an inflatable exercise ball, and as such is absolutely perfect. If you did not like/have not seen the film, I imagine this might be a three to a three and a half star album for you, but it’s easily a four and a half star album for anyone who saw and loved the film and it comes recommended regardless. (Originally posted November 27, 2004).

Original Score and Songs by Jon Brion; Score Recorded and Mixed by Tom Biller; Album Produced by Jon Brion and Jonathan Karp; Availability: In print; Label (Catalogue): Milan Records, (M2-36096); Release Date: October 12, 2004

01. Monday (2:08)
02. Knock Yourself Out (2:10)
03. Strange Bath (0:57)
04. Cubes (1:42)
05. Didn’t Think It Would Turn Out Bad (2:41)
06. Coincidences (1:19)
07. Over Our Heads (2:29)
08. You Learn (2:20)
09. Later Monday (2:08)
10. Ska (1:18)
11. Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way (1:24)
12. Huckabees Jingle (50’s Version) (0:20)
13. Revolving Door (4:33)
14. JB’s Blues (2:17)
15. True To Yourself (2:37)
16. Didn’t Think It Would Turn Out Bad
(String Quartet Version) (1:49)
17. Strangest Times (1:56)
18. Omni (1:38)
19. Get What It’s About (5:59)
20. Monday (End Credits) (1:44)

Total Playing Time: 43′29