Benjamin Wallfisch's score for Rupert Wyatt's acclaimed thriller The Escapist is built and developed around an aggressive main theme in 7/8 meter. Wallfisch juxtaposes elements of heartbreaking beauty with adrenaline-pumping orchestral music and hard-hitting electronica. The amalgamation of these diverse elements results in a truly unique listening experience both in the film context and on its own...

The soundtrack to The Escapist takes the listener on an interesting journey. The album starts off well with a cracking theme - a contemporary track that doesn't even hint at the flavour of the music to come. You're then thrust into composer Benjamin Wallfisch's world for around 30 minutes, as he takes you on quite a journey.

This soundtrack has an interesting balance of conventional movie score styles coupled with slightly more off beat tracks.

In between the adrenaline fuelled tracks Wallfisch includes moments of mellow beauty: 'Confessional', 'Elegy for Brodie' (which actually reminded me of Harry Gregson Williams's 'Jeepride Rescue' from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), 'Frank's Vision', 'Lacey is Free', 'Escalator' and 'Reunion'.

I'd be interested to learn whether Wallfisch is a huge fan of Call of Duty IV, as quite a few of the tracks here are in a very similar style, most notably the already mentioned 'Elegy for Brodie', as well as 'Escalator' and 'In to the Dryer.'

'Underground Escape' was the only track that took a while to grow on me. I was in serious danger of getting a headache the first time I heard it, but once I'd listened to it a few times I really started to appreciate it's original sound.

The soundtrack's main theme pops its head up every now and then to remind you that your still listening to The Escapist and your MP3 player hasn't skipped onto something else.

At around thirty minutes worth of music, this is an interesting score, but I was left wanting more.

8

Darren Rea