Focused

 

By Paul Singh Kahlon
Daily Bruin Contributor

Sometimes having many talents can be an obstacle.

While at UCLA, Mark Adler, multi-faceted music editor for such
films as “Godfather III” and “Amadeus,” was
conflicted about which artistic avenue he would eventually
follow.

“Through most of my life, I couldn’t decide whether
I wanted to make films or write music,” Adler said.

During his time in the film school, however, Adler decided to
combine both of his passions. He now writes music for films.

Along with an impressive list of composing credits, Adler scored
the newly released independent film, “Focus,” starring
William H. Macy and Laura Dern, which opened nationwide on Nov. 7,
with Adler’s musical score following soon after on Nov.
13.

It wasn’t until Adler stumbled upon a composition course
with renowned composer, David Raksin, in the mid-’70s that
his wide aesthetic vision began to focus on one specific element of
filmmaking: music composition. Since then, Adler has assembled
scores for a variety of film genres, ranging from television to
Oscar winning documentaries, and thus far he has created the music
for over 20 films. Moreover, Adler has received many accolades,
including a primetime Emmy, for the music of HBO’s “Rat
Pack.”

Scoring his most recent film, “Focus,” provided a
welcome challenge for the former Bruin.

“It was wonderful and I felt like I had a really big
emotional palette to draw on. Part of the main character (Macy) is
almost naively optimistic and there had to be a musical theme for
that,” Adler said.

Along with being a character study, the film also embodies
various social undertones.

“Then there were the dark forces of prejudice operating
and there also had to be a theme for that. So, there was a lot of
emotional ground to cover which I thought was wonderful because it
wasn’t a mono-thematic film.”

  Photos courtesy of Paramount Classics Laura
Dern and William H. Macy star in the new
film, "Focus," scored by musical editor Mark
Adler. The newly released indie film centers on a Brooklyn
neighborhood in the waning months of WWII and explores the growing
sentiment of anti-Semitism at that moment in America; Adler,
however, strongly believes in the film’s relevance to not
only America’s past, but also its present.

“What it’s really about is prejudice in
general,” he said. “It’s about not seeing the
person in front of you for who they are as an individual, but
seeing them as black, or gay, or Jewish. And in the sense of
September 11th, it has inadvertently become a timely
subject.”

Thus far, “Focus” is receiving critical praise in
light of its recent screening at the Toronto Film Festival and
perhaps it’s relevance to today’s social and political
climate in America will attach more force to its already strong
message.

“I think the point is that prejudice, in all of its dark
and ugly forms, has been with us forever and is still with us in
terms of anti-Gay, anti-Black, and now in terms of anti-Middle
Eastern. It kind of recreates itself from decade to decade and
that’s really what the film is about to me,” said
Adler.

“Focus,” which is based on Arthur Miller’s
novel, is director Neil Slavin’s first attempt at feature
filmmaking and, according to Adler, Slavin’s firm persistence
to get the story made is apparent in the film’s overall
achievement.

“Neil has been wanting to make “˜Focus’ since
he was in college,” said Adler. “It’s his first
feature and he’s around sixty years old, so this has been a
life-long dream for him and I think he did a really great
job.”

  Meatloaf Aday plays Fred in the movie,
"Focus." The film focuses on prejudice in a Brooklyn neighborhood
in the waning months of WWII.

Since his youth, Adler’s assorted artistic and musical
interests have paved the eclectic avenue of his career. His early
interest in animation, for instance, landed him critical praise at
the young age of 16. Adler’s success continued on at UCLA,
where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and enhanced his cinematic
abilities by warmly embracing his academic surroundings.

“I liked the freewheeling atmosphere of the film school at
the time. There was something casual and spontaneous about it that
seemed to suit my way of working.”

Moreover, Adler’s background in cinema has aided his
career in movie scoring. By implementing his knowledge as an
animator, writer and director, Adler’s past truly bares
significance on his present work.

“For me it starts with story and character, which I guess
has something to do with my film background,” he says.
“But I always try to address the score from the standpoint of
what’s happening in terms of where the character starts out,
where the character is going, and where the character ends
up.”

In terms of music, Adler as expected, acquires inspiration from
a wide range of styles, from jazz to folk to classical.

“I like lots of different kinds of music. When I was in
high school, I was somebody who listened to Beethoven and The Who
“¦ and to this day, my taste is pretty broad and I think that
has helped in terms of being able to cover a range of styles both
musically and filmically.”

As a result of his diverse passion for art, perhaps Adler still
struggles as he once did in college to define himself and his
career.

“I’ve often thought of myself as a filmmaker whose
specialty is composing, more than just as a composer.”

But, when asked about his possible future plans in filmmaking,
Adler humbly states, “I’m going to stick to the
composition for the time being. There’s still a lot of room
for me to grow as a film composer.”