Eliot Goldenthal’s score for Neil Jordan’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’ is dark, frightening, luscious, pensive and evocative. Opening with the piece ‘Libera me’ the story of Louis Pont Du Lac is reflected in the twisted melodies floating over the coast of San Francisco. This movie changed the genre of vampire films for years to come – seeing the story unfold through the eyes of a tormented man, revolted at the nature of his being would lead to countless other vampire-p.o.v. films.
This movie has the good fortune to be scored by Goldenthal, who not only composed an Oscar nominated score but did it in three weeks. Listening to a track like ‘Libera me’, it is a display of pure talent. As the credits roll, we are drawn into this world. One sustained note brings us into the score – a drawn out string, leading to a choir of boys joining the music. The orchestra grows and the theme grows darker – this occurs as the camera pans through people. It is people that are at the very heart of this story, or rather, Louis’ seclusion from them. Christian Slater’s interviewer jokes – ‘What were you gonna do? Kill me? Drink my blood?’ to which Louis quietly replies – ‘Yes.’ He must live apart from people and as such he has retained a somewhat romanticised notion of what life is – the score reflects this in ‘Born to Darkness Part 1’, an orchestral flourish that peels back the years of Louis’ life to when he was mortal. The flourish quickly diminishes. Louis has never been a happy man – his wife and child are dead before he meets the man that will change his life. Tom Cruise’s portrayal of the vampire Lestat marks as one of his finest performances to date. He is introduced with a bang – the brass announces him as he accosts Louis and the woodwind play him out as he drops the man into the water. In these moments, Goldenthal sums up the mischievous nature of him. The harpsichord plays a small run for him – he is mysterious, beautiful and a smiling devil.
The score weaves its influence through the film. It works both within and out of the picture. The soundtrack released contains all of the major tracks – opening with ‘Libera me’ and closing with the Guns n’ Roses cover of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. This cover plays out the film and, personally, I think it spoils the last scene. We have been given a beautiful score and, it is true, a change was needed for Lestat’s return. Anything but this. However, this track comes down to taste – do you like their cover or not. I don’t, I think it’s brash, predictable and tasteless. But that’s just me.
The classically inspired pieces within the score shine beautifully – ‘Santiago’s Waltz’ being, in my opinion, the best example. Louis’ first encounter with a foreign vampire, the scene plays on the comedy aspect – Stephen Rea’s Santiago dances around Louis, then up the wall of the bridge before standing before Louis, taking off his top hat as a bow. The scene changes quite suddenly and the music does to – it goes from classical waltz to dark, brooding fanfare for the Theatres Des Vampires. It is within the walls of this theatre that ‘Libera me’ returns and the full impact of this haunting piece is unleashed. To those who have not seen the film, I will spare the spoiler – but it reflects one of the darkest moments of Louis’ story. The tension in this scene is almost painful – a big orchestral blast as Louis is taken dies in the violin scratch. This time, there is no orchestra to back up the boys’ choir – just that one note, behind the voices – just the certainty that there will be a reckoning to follow.
The main themes of the score are of course ‘Libera me’ and ‘Born to Darkness’, as they are the themes of Louis himself. Yet even in the incidental music there is demonstration of careful setting – Claudia’s piano piece as the bodies are carried from the family house, a symphony by Haydn and the Haydn sonata that Lestat plays before and after his ‘death’ are both wonderful inclusions. The first, a ‘more sombre’ piece, is mocking the deaths of the family members. It is also a display of pre-written music being transformed in a new context. Surely, Haydn was not thinking about Anne Rice’s vampires when he composed these pieces, one assumes…the second piece is the more memorable because of the scenes it inhabits. Its first appearance, moments before Claudia gives Lestat ‘a gift’, could have been just another musical scene, nice but lacking any memorable attribute. However, the piece burns itself into the film’s cannon as Lestat tells Claudia she has been a ‘very, very naughty little girl’.
The film’s music of course makes up the emotional background of the piece. The story is so strong that they complement each other – one is showing you the images while the other is filling your head with the feelings and emotions of these frozen creatures. Yes, the score is dark. Yes, there are moments in the film when the tension grows so high and so profound that you may find yourself wanting to walk away. However, a new challenge is to listen to the score (without the final song included, depending on taste) at night. Hear the notes clash against each other and feel them move around you. Within moments, you will be swept up in the mood of their nights. These creatures do not see the sunlight – this score doesn’t offer any.
Hey I didn’t think we were allowed talk about classical music here, I’m so gonna take advantage of that.
Here’s a fact for ye: Sting’s Moon Over Bourban Street, from his 1985 album, was inspired by the Anne Rice book Interview With A Vampire, years before the film came out. So now.
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