The beauty of independent film, especially compared with summer blockbusters, is that you hardly ever know how it’s going to end. Throughout “Little Miss Sunshine,” you’re left guessing the fate of the characters, their triumphs, their transport, their deep emotional valleys.
But if foreshadowing hints at anything in this film, it whispers to you what the filmmakers are leading up to – musically, at least. The fascinatingly bubbly score to the film, opening in Denver today, tells you exactly how it ends: With “How It Ends,” of course, DeVotchKa’s heartbreaking ballad of yearning and pain.
DeVotchKa, winner of The Post’s 2002 Underground Music Poll and a longtime local favorite for its Slavic-influenced mariachi folk music, handled the lion’s share of the “Little Miss Sunshine” score and soundtrack, with a little help from arranger Mychael Danna. It was the first major project for the quartet, which recorded and arranged until right before the Sundance Film Festival this year, where the movie debuted.
And it’s a mammoth success for the band. Its music – mostly rearranged variations on previously released songs without Nick Urata’s vocals – guides you through this darkly sweet story, holding your hand along the way and assuring you that Richard will shut up and Olive will make it to the pageant, that Frank won’t spontaneously combust and Sheryl will be able to hold her conflicted emotions together.
If DeVotchKa’s music is anything, it’s moody – and mood-setting, making it ideal for film work. The new instrumental “Let’s Go” is vibrant proof of the band’s ability to go from wistful to hopeful to playful to mournful to hopeful to contemplative, all in 3 minutes and 21 seconds. The peaks and valleys, especially when set against the celluloid backdrop, are artful and moving.
The scoring feat proves something certain longtime fans of the band have felt for years: Even when DeVotchKa is playing instrumentals, it is better than any of the mood-setting musicians playing original songs backing the many Cirque du Soleil productions. As grandiose as those theatrical spectaculars are, the music is always sub-par, focusing on brash sameness and not subtle nuances. The company just opened “Love” in Las Vegas to the soundtrack of The Beatles. Its next producing director should at least give a listen to DeVotchKa’s catalog.
The band’s main competition on the soundtrack is indie wunderkind Sufjan Stevens, who lands a song, “Chicago,” in the film and a couple on the soundtrack. And while Stevens is an accomplished songwriter, his music hits only two notes: celebratory and haunting. DeVotchKa’s music is more multidimensional, and “How It Ends” is the perfect example of that.
It’s the Hammond B3. And then the accordion. The piano. And Urata’s voice. The kick drum. The stand-up bass and the violin. And it’s a mournful meditation as much as it is a tragic release.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
