Review Summary: Soundtrack serves up many gems and some mispatches, but all in all a wonderfully ambitious listen.
Rather than go on and on about it, I'll just tell you that the movie Stranger Than Fiction has a certain subtlety to it. Rather than taking a broad direction in genre, the film dances around romance, drama, comedy and tragedy. Deep, light-hearted, fun and at times a tear jerker, this movie knows how to keep the viewers interested. Will Ferrell gives, in my opinion, the performance of his career, while simultaneously seeming rather comedically subdued by the movie itself. The entire cast is great, the story is quite fascinating and everything is tied up in the end in a neat little package.
The soundtrack is the exact musical equivalent of the movie. Subtle, broad, stylistic and indeed very intelligent. With contributions by Spoon and renowned soundtrack artist Brian Reitzell (behind such gems as Lost in Translation), music fans familiar with either of these artists know that they're in for a delicately poignant soundtrack, no matter how loud it gets.
Indeed, the album never does get very loud. Only a couple exceptions interrupt the soft and touching musical landscape of ambient, indie and even classical. Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" is a fittingly energetic first-wave punk classic, with two chords, harsh British vocals and a dirty and raw production, all secluded in a harmlessly irresistible topic in the lyrics - finding that special girl. Delta 5 bring us the most out of place track with the new-wave yelp of Mind Your Business, which without the movie or story attached just seems challenging to sit through, despite the quirky lyrical content including something about ice cream cones. Needless to say, in an album of depth and grace, it seems out of place.
But, interruptions aside, the album also serves up a brilliant ambient atmosphere. The final song, the epic "In Church" by Cyann & Ben with a little help from M83, the original composers, the soundtrack is laced up with a dramatic and sedated dream-like song, with faint organ and keys raining over the softly picked, melancholic acoustic guitar. Brian Reitzell and Britt Daniel's interludes "Flours", "Writer's Block" and "Auditor" are all instrumental minimalist pieces, rarely venturing beyond the two minute point. Each of them are mesmerizingly gorgeous, though incredibly dense and short. "Auditor" is catchy as hell, while "Flours" and "Writer's Block" each bring the sense of "uh oh anything can happen" due to their presence, or lack of. But in the end, it' Vanglis' masterpiece "Le Pettite Fille De La Mer" that latches on to the listner. A classical piece of the highest order, featuring little more than an acoustic guitar, some beautiful xylophone, and the most impossibly bleak but beautiful aura on the album. A simple, seductive and dream-like piece that makes great thinking music.
Elsewhere, the presence of arty punk music is very prominent on this compilation. Thanks to several donations from underground heroes Spoon, the album has a solid foundation for it's indie sound. Songs like the opener "The Book I Write" and "Vittorio E" serve up the simpler side of the album, with catchy melodies and pretty atmospherics nestled underneath the raw production, while "My Mathematical Mind" and "The Way We Get By" are both led by a bouncy piano and take a rather Beatle-esque direction. But it's songs like The Jam's "That's Entertainment" (a gorgeously simple acoustic balled with attitude and delicacy all at once), Maximo Park's "Going Missing" (an upbeat indie rock lo-fi piece that doesn't exactly scream originality but serves up a fun listen nevertheless) and The Upsetter's reggae fueled "Dubbing in the Back Seat", which brings a wonderful new mood to the soundtrack but doesn't sound out of place.
Though rather inconsistent with a few mismatches in choice, this soundtrack is a very seductive and thought-provoking collection of songs, ranging in styles and moods. A wonderful array of artists, a delicate weaving of textures, wonderful background music and a subtle hint at what the movie packs in terms of depth and character, without actually seeing it. A truly great purchase if you're looking for music to settle down to, want a good calm listen or just want to hear a wonderfully diverse album.
