Home of the Brave
Stephen Endelman
Irwin "Rocky" Winkler directed Home of the Brave, a film about service people returning from the war in Iraq and trying to readjust to life, a modern day version of the Oscar winning Best Years Of Our Lives. Starring Samuel Jackson, Jessica Biel, Christina Ricca, and 50 Cent it is set for a limited release on December 15th with a full multiplex release for January 5, 2007. Stephen Endelman is more known for his work on Broadway and with the Metropolitan Opera than his work for Hollywood but he has done Evelyn and Bride of the Wind both excellent scores.
The opening track is an original composition called "Try Not To Remember" performed by Sheryl Crow and very nicely arranged by Endelman. The lyrics, as well as the singing are quite poignant and thought provoking and this reviewer is not a Sheryl Crow fan at all. The last minute or so of the track Stephen takes over with his orchestration and arranging and gives us a small part of a chamber symphony. Both parts are very well done! Perhaps there is an Oscar nomination for best song.
"The Battle Ends" is a vocal sung in Arabic and quite ethnic sounding along with "Opening Iraq". Neither of these are unique sounding but something that we as viewers expect to hear because of the locale of the film. "Looking at the Map" is a combination electric guitar solo with marching snare drums and a solo trumpet to provide the patriotic theme to the track. This is a simple but effective melody. "Daddy's Home" is a nice acoustic guitar melody with the strings complementing with long steady notes. Similiar sounding and using similiar instruments are "Unbuttoning" and "Go and Die", both creating the proper underscore for this somewhat solemn film. "I'm Sorry Mommy" and "Test Taking" are also similiar underscore except the piano is substituted for the guitar and the snare drum and trumpet are used to give it that military flavor again.
This is not a score that is going to blast the bud phones out of your ear canals, far from it. Media Venture Group and John Williams at times do not come to mind. Think solemn, pensive, thought provoking. There is nothing loud and brash at all. The recent release of World Trade Center by Craig Armstrong comes to mind if you want to me to compare the kind of soundtrack style. The exception track would be the Sheryl Crow vocal which will likely have a great deal of appeal to her fan base as well as people who are taken with the film and want to purchase the soundtrack. There is nothing in this score other than "Try Not To Remember" that is going to really grab your attention. There is no groundbreaking material, in fact as you read the description of the track listings one can get a feel for exactly how it will sound. A little ethnic, a little military, a lot of solemn and solitude, but overall a very nice listening experience.
One thing that Lakeshore should have done on the release was to provide information on who were the soloists who performed quite well on the nicely recorded CD. The singing, guitar work, and piano were all well above the norm.
Track Listing
• Try Not To Remember/Sheryl Crow
• The Battle Ends
• Opening Iraq
• Looking At The Map
• Daddy's Home
• The Kitchen
• The Funeral
• I Gave This To Him
• Unbuttoning
• The Chase
• I'm Sorry Mommy
• Where Is He?
• What We're Thankful For
• Test Taking
• All Hell Broke Loose
• What Happened To Your Hand
• One Kid And One Hand
• Go And Die
• Return To Iraq
Thomas L. Kiefner - November 29, 2006
