This is another entry in my Complete Score Breakdown Series, focusing on the complete scores to films that have had abbreviated previous releases or have gone unreleased.
Today we are looking at Inhale (2010) by James Newton Howard.
What the heck happened with this one? Completely slipped through the cracks. I was happy to view the 2010 film Inhale to get a chance to hear James Newton Howard’s score, which I had never before heard, not even one note. I was delighted to learn that it was right up my alley, and it got me wondering how it evaded release, as most of his scores are released. Probably the low-profile independent nature of the film resulted in the lack of any kind of physical or digital release, as any part of the score is completely unavailable, except for two clips on youtube, one of which I will provide at the bottom of this post.
The score is a blend of small ensemble orchestral drama and thriller writing, heavily accentuated by electronics with a lovely focus on acoustic and Spanish guitar which really makes this score stand out. The film, starring Dermot Mulroney (never better), Diane Kruger, and Sam Shepard, is about a father who ventures into Mexico to find a lung donor for his dying daughter and stumbles into the world of illegal organ trafficking. I highly recommend it – prepare yourself for its shocking, powerful ending. It provided an interesting and provocative canvas for which Howard could (and did) provide a unique score. It can be quite low-key film music much of the time, with electronics leading the way during much of the thriller moments, but of course Howard knows how to pull on the heartstrings with restrained and minimal-scale acoustic instruments including the aforementioned Spanish guitar (could be some other type, that’s my best guess). Check out the second half of the youtube clip in particular for the impressive and delicate guitar work.
There are nearly 56 minutes of score in the film, including two cues at the end of the film running over 10 minutes, which is plenty to be resurrected for a release. I sincerely hope this moving, suspenseful score does not slip into oblivion and one of the specialty score labels rescues it and shows it the light of day…
COMPLETE & UNRELEASED SCORE RUNTIME: 55min 50sec
Complete Score Cue Titles and Cue Times (unreleased cues named by me for the sake of identification):
1. Main Title (2:33) 2. Love Interrupted (1:50) 3. Paul Calls (0:45) 4. Potential Donor (0:38) 5. Searching for Navarro (3:25) 6. Options (1:23) 7. Time Off (0:42) 8. Medical Research (3:20) 9. Restrained and Ambulance (2:40) 10. Confronting Jim (0:53) 11. His Name was Navarro (0:57) 12. Scarce Resources (1:52) 13. Aguilar (2:44) 14. Make an Exception (3:03) 15. Discovery (11:17) 16. Arrangements (12:26) 17. Sacrifice (0:46) 18. End Credits (4:39)
