AA.VV.
Fahrenheit OST

Chaos. Catharsis. Sacrifice. Blood dripping, innocent blood... For a higher purpose. Epic clash. Clash of titans. Apocalypse.

Violins, choirs, ecstasy, Angelo Badalamenti.

Small Premise: this review is gigantic.

Second Small Premise: the review is a bit 'experimental' due to the type of product being reviewed and I don't know how much it will be appreciated by you debaserians. I apologize once again for the excessive length of the review.

"Fahrenheit" is not the new chaotic, shocking, and seemingly inexplicable maze-film by the much-praised (rightly so) David Lynch, but it is... a video game.

But no! What are you doing?

Don't close the review immediately, come on! It's absolutely essential to spend a few words (and perhaps a little more) on this little gem of the 'new wave of entertainment' and then to heap praise upon praise for the soundtrack that accompanies us step by step...

Fahrenheit, developed by the folks at Quantic Dreams, conceived by the talented David Cage, is already an experimental gaming experience. With mastery, this title manages to completely break the barrier (which has become increasingly thinner in recent times) that has always separated a video game from a film, merging these two realities into one.

The protagonists who find themselves catapulted into this emotional cataclysm are three: Lucas Kane, Carla Valenti, and Tyler Miles. The former is an ordinary mortal, an ordinary citizen who (quoting the game) "finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time," a man chosen by an unsettling and invisible puppeteer to commit a heinous murder, apparently gratuitous, apparently senseless... Poor Lucas, frustrated and distressed after breaking up with his girlfriend Tiffany, went to dine all alone in a bare, sad, and dismal diner and could not imagine what he was getting into.

He couldn't foresee being part of a design bigger than himself. And already from the first steps of the game, already from Lucas's first brief monologue, an omniscient narrator with a blunt, aseptic tone hits us with a harsh reality: from any situation, especially if 'unknown forces' are at play (the first hint of the large slice of esotericism present in the game), man is destined to come out defeated, or if he wins... he will never be truly happy and satisfied with his condition. What strikes most about this experience, this so-called 'interactive film' is the perception of that ever-present thick layer of anxiety, always palpable, that envelops almost every episode during the narration, from the absurd and cryptic beginning to the 'multiple endings' (among which only one is a happy ending that, to be honest, considering the negativity and pessimism that ooze from Fahrenheit, seems somewhat out of tune with the rest of the game). Lucas couldn't have known that before going to the bathroom of the diner, he would grab the knife on his table and, unable to control himself, without being able to react and shake off the hands of the potent and mysterious puppeteer, would go to the bathroom and mercilessly kill a complete stranger... And not only with innate ferocity, but also with extreme and inhuman precision, the possessed killer had severed the three main arteries of that poor man, a few seconds before unaware of the anonymous and sad end he would meet...

When Lucas wakes up from his trance state and recovers from total bewilderment, he discovers he is indeed a killer and it is at this moment that we step into his shoes, immersing ourselves in this precious and pretentious adventure...

The beauty of the work is that on one hand we kill poor strangers and try to hide our tracks (putting the unfortunate's body in a booth, cleaning the blood on the floor with a mop), on the other hand we play good cop and bad cop, that is, Mr. Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles. She is (the "bad cop"!) a withdrawn, silent, introverted woman and is... alone and disconsolate, the typical example of a person who dedicates her entire life to work to suppress her romantic disappointments.

Tyler Miles, a lively and colorful fellow, is (the "good cop", understanding and playful) one of those kinds who lead a serene, carefree, happy life, blah blah blah if it weren't... for his girlfriend who continuously pressures him to leave his job.

Thus, subplots are created on a solid Oscar-worthy plot, many valid and (roughly) realistic romantic stories of good craftsmanship. And as if that weren't enough, the icing on the cake is that good slice of esotericism I spoke of earlier, but I don't want to reveal more... I may have already spoken too much for those who want to play it in peace. 

Oh, I almost forgot, I'm here to review also and mainly the soundtrack of this work! But it was necessary and providential to spend those 'big words' (I apologize for the misleading 'few words') on the 'interactive film' (I hope you'll forgive me if you consider this review a mix between a film review and a soundtrack review) before talking to you about the soundtrack.

To each character, and more specifically to each area of the game, a different musical genre is dedicated, skillfully related to the various protagonists and the environment. At the home of that cheerful fellow Tyler, after all, we all would have expected funky and R'n'B songs galore, not too demanding and upbeat, which I also find very fitting in the actual 'gameplay' (Hang It Up by Patrice Rushen during the brief basketball game between Tyler and his colleague is really fun!), giving a sometimes carefree touch and lifting the spirit of a somewhat disheartened player due to the relentless disastrous events of the game. Eh, occasionally a dose of good cheer is needed to digest the bitter pills swallowed shortly before.

On the other hand, even the Theory Of A Dead Man, devoted to a somewhat commercial post-grunge that perhaps smells a little too much like déjà vu (but like it or not, if you become attached to the game, you will find yourself getting sentimental when you hear Santa Monica, more for an 'emotional issue' than for the actual quality of the track), are the perfect soundtrack for the solitary, disappointed, and shocked Lucas Kane, who from that crucial moment in his life, spends most of his time at home lamenting and... - SPOILER trying out his new spectacular paranormal powers, which seem straight out of the Wachowski brothers' heads! SPOILER -

The only moment of relaxation for Carla is instead associated with a wonderful atmospheric track gifted to us by the poetic and persuasive voice of Martina Topley-Bird, "Sandpaper Kisses", truly suitable to listen to in the shower, finally to relax a bit and shake off all the heavy thoughts that torture the poor Carla these days and by reflection also us, the players/spectators inevitably immersed in the role...

But... where is all that melancholy I talked about before? Where has the theory of man defeated by higher forces gone? What happened to the black magic, the chaos, the pathos, the sacrifice, the esotericism... where did they go?

As many already know, where there is esotericism, often and willingly, there is Angelo Badalamenti, the one who composed the unforgettable soundtracks for Twin Peaks (the famous and unavoidable '90s TV show), Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Wild at Heart (apparently he seems to be one of the best friends of that crazy David Lynch!), and many others. This time, however, he was recruited by Cage's team, and finally, I reach one of the hottest points of the work, the actual soundtrack of the work, which accompanies us throughout the experience and magnificently represents it.

Forget the jazzy and bizarre atmospheres of a Freshly Squeezed or an Audrey's Theme or the love songs like Falling accompanied by the wonderful voice of Julee Cruise (three tracks from the "Twin Peaks" soundtrack)...

The soundtrack composed by Badalamenti is a painful and masochistic dive into an ocean of anguish... The Main Theme speaks clearly, Badalamenti, this time, has neither the time nor the way to grant us more 'easy-listening' or carefree pieces, his task is to marry his icy strings, his passionate synthesizers with the most pessimistic and introspective aspects of the interactive film. Thus begins the simple and heart-wrenching melody of the Main Theme painted by that violin solo that carries with it cold, a lot of snow, and is a prelude to the melancholy that will reign supreme afterward. Without even having clicked on "New Game," I already felt something akin to a lump in my throat, but I still didn't fully know what awaited me.

And so begins the disgusted tale of Lucas, accompanied by that violin increasingly in tune with the desperate atmosphere that intensifies with each passing moment... The defeat of man forges the triumph of that oppressive Evil, of that mad and unknown puppeteer, who performs his deeds as the intensity of the instruments grows and the gentle melancholy turns into savagery, an explosive fury that culminates in a terror-gospel at the height of pathos! A chorus that increasingly squeezes us, oppresses us, suffocates us, squeezes us, oppresses us, suffocates us... the blank stare of Lucas, a claustrophobic, cold, and terrible sequence... the knife is poised towards the unsuspecting victim... The sacrifice is complete, blood drips, innocent blood, unaware blood. 

The awareness of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the awakening from what could have seemed like a bad dream, the return to the raw and terrible reality is conducted from Lucas's shocked and agitated look, from his sudden morale drop (which will backfire against the player even from a purely gameplay perspective) and from the return on the scene of those subdued and romantic violins that had captivated me since the main screen appeared...

On this trail, we also find the Carla's Theme, which suitably symbolizes our protagonist, a calm and weak melody that gradually grows until the final solution, the solution to that apparently inextricable enigma to which Carla was dedicating her life.

The Ending Theme, amidst warm violins, rustling winds, and an acute and poignant choir in crescendo, takes us to ecstatic shores of rare intensity... Everything is concluded, the sacrifice has been made amidst regrets, romantic disappointments, reconsiderations, and everything has demonstrated the thesis of man eternally overwhelmed by Evil...

I fear I have gone on too long, but this work by Quantic Dreams & Badalamenti (without taking anything away from the other valid artists who accompany us during the adventure), one of the true and solid cornerstones of this unmissable experience, constitutes one of my favorite musical works of all time. I could not help but spend rivers of words, and I hope not to have done so in vain.

What can I say, play it, enjoy it, let it flow inside you. Let the ice and desolation that "Fahrenheit" brings with it become yours at least once in a lifetime.

It is not a video game, it is not a film, it is not a fairy tale or a story, it is the raw and bitter realization of the defeat of the human being.