Swagger and Soul: Analyzing the Music from Ocean's 11

One of the more overt dilemmas in the music of Ocean’s Eleven was the necessary need to reflect on the idea of old guard Las Vegas and the obvious modernity of the time in which the movie is set. It epitomizes classic Rat Pack versus online poker, Class versus Flash, gangsters versus gangstas. Because it is set in Las Vegas, nostalgia is impossible to avoid. Holmes and the music department take great care in choosing which side of Las Vegas they wish to portray in each given scene.

It would be entirely inappropriate for this movie to beat the nostalgic side of Las Vegas into the audience’s head, but even more inappropriate for the film to ignore it. David Holmes is successful in his portrayal of a modern Las Vegas in that he melds the two worlds in his own compositions by mixing the sounds of a classic acoustic jazz combo with studio produced drum and bass grooves, but by also using external sources with the same variety, using clips from Elvis and Perry Como all the way to the current hip-hop group Handsome Boy Modeling School. Soderbergh’s numerous montages pay very close attention to timing, allowing the drum and bass style of Holmes to consistently groove without awkwardness. Always cool, Holmes’ capability to mix these styles and effectively define the mood of the scene allows a contemporary sense of style and class reminiscent of the Rat Pack of old.

Ocean’s Eleven in Today’s Context

The movie Ocean’s Eleven (2001) was a remake of the 1960 version of the same name, starring the original Rat Pack in Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy David Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Naturally, the stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac have enjoyed being referenced continually as a modern day Rat Pack, and rightfully so. Directed by the versatile Steven Soderbergh, the movie was very well received as well as an impressive commercial success at home and abroad.

Encouraged, two sequels were made in the following years, Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). While these were financial successes, the films were modestly reviewed and generally perceived to be excuses to get these gentlemen and ladies on screen with each other once more. Soderbergh’s versatility in style can be attributed in part to these films, which shows a lighter side to his work as opposed to such award winning films as Traffic (2000) and Erin Brokovich (2000).

Originally a popular DJ in Belfast, Holmes began working with Soderbergh in 1998 with the film Out of Sight. After the success of Ocean’s Eleven in 2001, he returned do both sequels Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). He was awarded the BMI Film Music award for his scores in the first two in 2002 and 2005.

Visual and Musical Timing – Drum ‘n Bass Sound in Filmic Time 

One particular montage of chronological interest is when we meet Reuben, an old school casino owner played by Elliot Gould who’s recently been muscled out by the antagonist, fellow casino owner Terry Benedict, played by Andy Garcia. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty (Brad Pitt) are trying to convince Reuben to join their heist, and as they are discussing the rest of their crew, we are introduced to some of the secondary characters.

Soderbergh’s montages in the film work very well with the drum and bass style. Quick, active shots give way to occasional breaks in the action for a dialogue and with a vamp it’s easy to structure the music around these breaks without sounding out of place. As Rusty and Danny are excusing themselves to leave Reuben’s home, they off-handedly mention that they’ll be robbing Terry Benedict’s places. “What do you guys got against Terry Benedict,” Reuben asks, and an E-flat blues scale pattern is vamped behind the dialogue in the bass.

As the men size each other out, subtle additions to the orchestration help build the expectation as Reuben becomes interested. The vamp begins as he gets up from the table to walk towards Danny and Rusty. When the three are standing next to each other with Reuben facing the camera, the other two have their backs to the camera, making it seem as if our point of view is clearly on the side of Danny and Rusty. A shaker quietly sounds in rhythm as Reuben stops, and a pair of bongos adds to the rise as the conversation turns more forthright. The shot moves to the new characters but continues with the narration as if we’re still in the conversation. The ensemble now enters with horn hits and sax solo.

As they start to divulge their plan, they show us first Frank (Bernie Mac), happy as a clam in a car to Las Vegas, and then Turk and Virgil Malloy (Scott Caan and Casey Affleck, respectively). The vamp returns as we have a few moments of brief dialogue to explain the eclectic dynamic between the two brothers. As they start the race between the monster truck and the mini truck, the ensemble returns and the sax solo picks up energy. It’s cut short, however, when Turk, losing the race, crushes his brother’s radio controlled monster truck. There’s a moment of slapstick as the guitar takes the place of the tenor solo, mimicking a mocking “nyah-nyah” shout from a playground.

The scene switches to Livingston Dell, an electronics expert now working as a surveillance man. The ensemble drops to a crouch, adding mysterious doo-wah guitar sounds and a sneaky sax. It drops to almost nothing for his dialogue, subsequently making the transition to the end of the scene a long diminuendo.

Introducing the characters of this particular film is a lengthy process, one that could easily become tedious. Soderbergh’s strength in this film is his ability to define each character convincingly using small fragments of dialogue and visuals. The problem for him lies in the number amount of times he must achieve it, and the brief amount of time in which he must do it. Holmes succeeds in moving this process along without it becoming monotonous by shaping the scene dramatically, slow rise and slow fall, giving the audience a landing point for the next scene.