Silva Screen Records has released Thomas Newman's score to John Madden’s dark drama starring Sam Worthington, Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson. The Debt is a remake of the award-winning 2007 thriller by Israeli director Assaf Bernstein that tells a story about a Nazi war criminal who is pursued by a group of agents...

Thomas Newman's music for The Debt includes all the usual beats you'd expect from a thriller of this nature. There's the obligatory chase theme (most notable in 'An Unscheduled Stop'), as well as moody atmospheric music that is woven throughout this album.

I couldn't help noticing a piece of music that Newman uses that reminded me of Nathan McCree's score for the original Tomb Raider game. It pops up as the background to 'Ghost Station' but is most noticeable in 'One More Parcel'.

'Elsa Roget' also has an ending that James Horner fans will instantly recognise as one of Horner's trademark signature themes. In fact 'Elsa Roget' is probably this album's most beautiful track.

While on balance I enjoyed this album, there's little here to really get excited about. A lot of the music is atmospheric in nature, and while it no doubt works well in the movie, it sometimes feel a little bland when listened to in isolation.

7

Darren Rea