Where was the soundtrack???

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2008)

I am not sure what movie the people who have rated this a 10 were watching. I am an huge Cohen brothers fan, and have seen all of their movies. There were only 2 redeeming qualities in this cinematic debacle. The acting was great. Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin were wonderful in portraying what the writer was looking for. The cinematography was, equally impressive. The sweeping shots and use of lighting made the actual visuals of the movie worth watching. That was the end of it. The writing had moments, but fell short most of the time. The most glaring problem I saw with the entire movie was the blatant lack of sound track. I would go as far as to say the person who did the mix down and recording might have just forgotten to roll the background tracks in. There was NO MUSIC!!! ALL Movies have a score written for them. This is a western and could have had a sound track that made the movie. WHERE WAS IT? Look back at the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. If it weren't for the soundtrack, some people wouldn't even remember them. Were there no available composers or did they spend too much money on the acting talent? To give a movie a 10, it has to be a complete movie. The Cohen brothers won Grammys and Academy Awards for the music in O Brother, Where Art Thou? I am not asking for that kind of sound track, this has no musical numbers, nor should it, but some a rhythmic drums or percussion in the sweeping scenes of the desert wasteland would have been great. A little acoustic guitar could have really added to the viewing experience. In fact, every movie the brothers have made has had some of the most memorable sound tracks ever put on a movie screen. Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and Miller's Crossing had moments where the sound track was the star of the show. Even The Hudsucker Proxy and Ladykillers had good background music. I watched this movie in a megaplex with several hundred people, and I could hear munching on popcorn more than what was happening in the movie for most of it. Not to say the sound track would have saved the movie, but, had they gotten someone great to do the score, Maurice Jarre, Jay Fergusson, Danny Elfman, or even maybe given Carter Burwell a little more time, it would have at least moved my score up to above average. I certainly hope the future does not hold more of this silent movie treatment.