Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Mark Isham's score for the underrated period drama Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle derives much but not all of its inspiration from the Roaring Twenties-era jazz that served as the musical backdrop for the intellectual sparring of Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, and their fellow members of the famed Algonquin Round Table. Alternating between meticulously arranged swing and wilder, more improvisational jazz elements, Isham brings to life the vibrancy and swagger of New York City in its pre-Depression golden age. While the presence of an ambient electronic dimension may seem somewhat anachronistic, Isham employs his synthesizers to effective use, creating gauzy, sensuous soundscapes that evoke the physical longing behind the characters' mental jousting. Varèse Sarabande's official soundtrack release also includes a series of spoken interludes featuring star Jennifer Jason Leigh reciting some of Parker's most legendary verse.