Film Reviews

Southpaw Soundtrack Review

• 10th Aug 2015

Composer: James Horner

The late James Horner has got quite a CV to his name, composing the scores for Braveheart, Aliens and Titanic to name a few. But, with the final score he wrote, he takes a departure from his usual motif to give something gritty and dark, in keeping with the feel of Southpaw.

It begins with the dark, introspective ‘Preparations’ before delving into ‘A More Normal Life’, and these are indeed big steps away from what we’ve seen Horner do in the past. Small, gritty, and with less of an orchestra than we’ve seen him work with in recent years, it’s a more closed effort which proves more haunting for it.

‘Suicidal Rampage’ is an eight minute movement of dark synth and eye opening moments of silence before a piano interlude. It’s deafening in it’s swings, and is in great time with how the film moves alongside it.

Elsewhere, on ‘How Much They Miss Her’ is one of the greater portions of the already encapsulating score, where the short 2 minute track features a great solo piano performance that is as cutting as you can bear to deal with. Much the same can be said in ‘House Auction’, but for a predominantly cold record, here there is a warmer feel than anywhere else throughout.

The score comes to a head in it’s climax, much with the film, in the track ‘Hope vs Escobar’ where it builds and triumph’s into something more memorable than you could hope to imagine. This score truly feels like a gift from the afterlife, one we probably don’t deserve, and is a fitting tribute to a great composer who was taken well before his time.

Chris Droney