In the 1970's and 80's, two men dominated the world of motion picture soundtracks: John Williams and Ennio Morricone. If not directly responsible for a film's background music, one of the two probably inspired it. What finally opened the door to other composers was Hollywood's own laziness. A rapid spiral to artistic nadir with ludicrous PR vehicles like "Days of Thunder" alienated the thinking public, who turned to independent film for true entertainment. Once mainstream studios recognized the underlying sense in this low-overhead, high-return formula, they picked the best of the crop for mass distribution. It's a consequence of this fleecing of the underground that composers like Carter Burwell have gained popular attention.

Burwell's early material appeared almost exclusively in films by Joel and Ethan Coen. Due to the stifling "quirkiness" of these pictures, his compositions were for the most part unnecessarily wacky; it wasn't until the Coen brothers struck out in 1991 with "Miller's Crossing" that Burwell's dramatic talents were put to good use. The stirring score he penned for this criminally overlooked film has since been recycled in a number of major studio pictures, including "The Green Mile" and a forgettable 1998 remake of "Les Miserables."

After enjoying success with the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning 1996 thriller "Fargo," Burwell branched out (apparently at the invitation of Michael Stipe, who produced the two films he'd score next). Following a misguided experiment in electronic music contributed to "Velvet Goldmine," he composed the score for "Being John Malkovich," the directorial debut of revolutionary music video maker Spike Jonze.

Jonze was responsible for the hilariously off-key video for Björk's 1997 single "It's Oh So Quiet;" this relationship earned him a returned favor in the form of "Amphibian," Björk's contribution to "Being John Malkovich" soundtrack. "Amphibian" is once again startling, inventive, and obviously, great-- Björk's creativity continues to astound with an orchestra of vocals and understated harp chords. Fans of her work should purchase the soundtrack for this one alone.

Burwell's task was scoring the pathos of desire and loneliness. The film for the most part retells-- as an overt parallel at its beginning illustrates-- a tale of unrequited love. It's a witty and entertaining script, but about halfway through I recognized Burwell's signature and made a concerted effort to evaluate the film without allowing his talent to cloud my judgment. In the end, the score is arguably more powerful than the film; it may be a great story, but cinematically, it's nothing new.

Whereas the Coen brothers offered a new approach to filmmaking from the start-- a wry, singularly skewed view of life-- Jonze debuted with a comparatively staid voice. It's Carter Burwell's uncanny knack for lilting melodies that allows "Being John Malkovich" to resonate with such childlike wonder; it's as much evidence of Burwell's authoritative talent for creating a movie's atmosphere as anything else.

-Chris Ott