About the Soundtrack: From Sony Classical comes the latest score from James Newton Howard, "Defiance." Featuring violin solos from Joshua Bell, the soundtrack consists of 15 tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music. This score also marks a follow-up for Howard's working relationship with director, Ed Zwick, as they had both collaborated together on the underrated, "Blood Diamond."

 

What You Need to Know:  This effort is a bit under whelming and predictable. James Newton Howard's score for "Defiance" is at times bland, at least to my ears, and failed to evoke much of an emotional response from me. What I found lacking on the forefront was the influences of distinct Jewish melodies and motifs that should have been integrated in the score. While such context is represented through the frequent violin solos, there was certainly room for further emphasis of such cultural themes, particularly during the "exodus" scenes in the film. Instead, Howard's score meanders in between a straight forward type of dramatic underscore and an array of motifs that I found to be, actually, too subtle.

What is most disappointing for me with the score for "Defiance" is that we don't get to heard Howard's "A" game. That the score was subtle and personal is no excuse; Howard's softer side is equally as proficient as his grandiose work. And as far as originality -- I hate to use the word contrived, but throughout the listening experience it felt as if I had heard this type of material before but only better. I kept getting the feeling that something was missing from the score, an absence that reflects on the pulse of the music.

While most of my critique here is on the edge of disappointment, there are a few moments where "Defiance" does work well. For instance, the orchestral power within the closing minutes of, "The Bielski Otriad," is quite effective as is the dramatic output from "Nothing is Impossible," and the moving, "Tuvia Kisses Lilka.". Its moments like these that represent more of what I expected from the score, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. It simply fails to captivate. Furthermore, the score is as equally disappointing in the film, where the lack of Howard's thematic writing is noticed even further. Sure, there are themes in the work of the quiet and tender variety, but I felt these motifs were too obscured.
 

Final Score: James Newton Howard plays it safe with his music for "Defiance," a rather familiar sounding effort that left me on the outside of the material. While some might find the quiet, tender nature of the score to be worth the purchase, my recommendation is to pass on it unless you're a big fan of his work. There's nothing here you haven't heard before.