Tracksounds Rating = 7/10

Composed by Christopher Young
Promo Release 2000

One of the most talked about films of the holiday season of ’99 was The Hurricane starring Denzel Washington.  This film that reflects the story of ex-pro boxer, Rubin Carter, as told from Carter’s perspective, has certainly provided Washington with yet another great opportunity to demonstrate his skills as an actor.  With such a powerful story also came an equal opportunity for some bright composer to demonstrate his or her musical talents. 

One might immediately think, “A film about jail?  Thomas Newman!”  This would certainly be most of our thoughts regarding the perfect composer for such a film.  It may have been that Thomas Newman simply wasn’t available since his latest project The Green Mile debuted in the same month as The Hurricane, but in any event, there is still a strong Newman flavor to Young’s score. 

It isn’t that Newman has cornered the market on soft, melancholy to menacing, string-laden scores, but he has certainly produced enough of them to become known for “that” sound.  Christopher Young takes a similar approach in more than a handful of tracks of The Hurricane, but also adds a strong dose of jazz to mix.   The range for this score covers cool and subtle, small member, jazz trio pieces, sometimes with wordless vocals, to the  afford-mentioned Newman-esque music closely resembling moments from Meet Joe Black, Shawshank Redemption and Up Close and Personal.  It isn't much of a stretch to compare the more subdued and somewhat somber overtones of this Young score to some of Mark Isham's works, namely, October Sky.  Overall, Christopher Young does a solid job augmenting the storyline and acting with his somewhat dark-sided music.  Young certainly adds to his range of score types especially when compared to his last couple releases, the under-developed, disappointing Entrapment, and In Too Deep- a heavily street influenced score, which was a bit more enjoyable. 

All though track 1, a jazz piece, earns the title Hurricane, it is really, Rube (track 2) that sets the tone for the The Hurricane.   It is a blend of layer after layer of somberly played strings.  Later, Young adds subtle jazz hints to variations of this theme in the forms of piano accents, sultry trumpet leads, and the steady rhythm of brushed cymbals and snare.  This is a very effective sound in the film and  an unobtrusive stand alone musical experience.

Also of note is the final track which is a vocal rhythm and blues cut, I Will Rise Again.  It is actually a very well produced piece with an adequate lead female vocal and choir-like backup singers.  Unfortunately, this promotional release doesn't provide any information on who these vocalists are.

While The Hurricane should continue to earn Denzel Washington best actor awards, it also further establishes Christopher Young reputation as one of Hollywood’s most versatile composers.  The score to the Hurricane isn’t one that is “in your face,” just as it shouldn’t be.  Instead, it supports the unfathomable story of Rubin Carter and makes ample room for Washington’s prize performance.

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Final Score

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Composer
Christopher Young

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