My Favorite Themes - Part V

Score: Dogma by Howard Shore (Lord of...Return the Tower...uh...The Fly)

About the film: Two rogue angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon), bored with purgatory in Wisconsin (!) and unhappy with God, find a way to return to Heaven. Unfortunately, it will prove the Almighty fallible and unmake all of existence. The task of stopping them falls to a woman (Linda Fiorentino) with her own issues against the Lord. She is joined by an apostle (Chris Rock), a muse (Salma Hayek) and...Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith)?! Yes, Virginia, this is a Kevin Smith movie and, perhaps, his most ambitious. Some fine moments of religious insight are mixed with some gruesome killings and low-brow gags. Smith devotees (guilty as charged) may take to it more than others.

Title: "The Last Scion". The theme is connected with Bethany (Fiorentino) and her ultimate identity. This beautiful melody is performed on that most maligned and underrated of film scoring instruments, the ondes martenot (ondz mar-ten-OH). It is best heard in the titular track as the Metatron (a terrific Alan Rickman) tells Bethany about why she was selected. Though she has no romantic partner in the film, this would've, in my opinion, made a fantastic love theme. Special note: the ondes martenot was performed by the then-reigning mistress of the instrument, the late Mme. Jeanne Loriod, who also worked on Elmer Bernstein's Heavy Metal, the first of several scores where he used the instrument.

Other themes of interest: There's the exciting fight music in "The Golgothan" and "John Doe Jersey", the demonically playful "Stygian Triplets" and the powerful choral music throughout. Also, I must mention the song, "Mooby the Golden Calf" (written by the composer and the director). Its melody is infectious, even if its lyrics are amusingly unintelligible. Pity it wasn't worked into the body of the score somehow.

Availability: It was released on Maverick Records (Madonna's label) in 1999. Chances are you can find it used if you know where to look.