Happily and totally recovered for the Movies, after his brief isolation on the Symphonic World, each new work of this american genius imply a new and ashtonish possibility before his vast musical flow. Helped by the scarce rhythm of production he is submitted, which allows him to work deeeply each of his scores, Williams looks, constantly, for new forms and designs on which he may express himself; his music, far from stop and mimecry itself, investigate on the story and the ambiance on which the film is developed, not only to be part of, but to serve as its reference and sustenance. We saw this on his amazing Nixon (1995), just to mention his previous work for the movies, but we also saw it, a long time ago, on The Fury (1978). In Sleepers, the tragical story of four boys from New York's Hell's Kitchen serve him as excuse and reference for one of his most sober and intense scores, full of his best musical and harmonic gestures -like that magnificent soloist french horn-, and orchestrated of a different way than usual: the street environment and the catholic breath of its characters, imply the use of a peculiar immersion of electronic and choral components to the classical Williams orchestra, and the resolution always goes through a serious and barely spectacular treatment. Those who look for the brilliant and explosive Williams of Jurassic Park (1993) or Star Wars (1977) will be disappointed. Nothing far from reality, Sleepers seeks and finds the quintessence of drama, and only on its final cue -Reunion and Finale- the tonal uncertainty resolves itself on an emotive development of the Main Theme announced by the french horn at the beginning: the cyclic sense of the score is closed. M.A.F.
