That was the achilles-fucking-heel of the movie: the soundtrack.
Holy crap.
The movie starts as the comic starts, with the dramatic murder of the character known as The Comedian. Shot very well, very stylish. Soundtrack: Unforgettable by Nat King Cole. Hmm… The ironic use of a touching old-timey ballad to contrast with the disturbing on-screen content. It worked when Terry Gilliam used What a Wonderful World at the end of Twelve Monkeys, but the dramatic effect of this technique has lessened ever since. But, fuck it, it’s the beginning of the movie, I’ll give it a shot, fine.
Next, opening credits. Song choice: The Times They Are A’Changing by Bob Dylan. In its entirety… Ok now. This is getting kinda Gumpy. Please tell me this isn’t going to be one of those Time Life soundtracks where they use blatantly iconic songs from the 20th century in a lazy attempt to give weight to the scenes…
That’s exactly what the entire movie was.
Every time I would be digging the film’s many awesome qualities, they’d plug in these tired movie music clichés.
IE:
Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkle: during a wistful ponderous scene
All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix: during an intense suspenseful scene
Ride of the Valkyries – Wagner: During a war scene
Mozart Requiem: After a main character dies…
Guh… and the rest.
The absolute worst though: Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah during a graphic sex scene. No, not one of the many awesome, sexy covers of this song. The Leonard Cohen version. Now, I love this version, but it’s anything but sexy. It made the entire audience view the sex scene as a joke. It was almost grotesque.
In all seriousness, during the moments when these songs were used (usually in their entirety!) it brought this highly polished professional film down to the level of a high school class project. They were an awkward blight that pulled a well-crafted film into the depths of banality.