Based on the bestselling series of mystery novels by Lawrence Block, A Walk Among the Tombstones stars Liam Neeson as Matt Scudder, an ex-NYPD cop who now works as an unlicensed private investigator operating just outside the law. When Scudder reluctantly agrees to help a heroin trafficker hunt down the men who kidnapped and then brutally murdered his wife, the PI learns that this is not the first time these men have committed this sort of twisted crime…nor will it be the last. Blurring the lines between right and wrong, Scudder races to track the deviants through the backstreets of New York City before they kill again.
In an interview with CineMedia Promotions for Film Score Monthly, Rivera talks about his inspiration for the film, “I looked for something malleable, haunting, dreadful… a motif of thirds shifting by half steps became central in establishing the two dark characters that inhabit the story. This really was the engine behind the score.” He further elaborates on his and the director’s vision for the role of music in the film, “the waterphone is a fantastic instrument in that it behaves unexpectedly, creating mid-to-high range drones. Scott loved the opening for Dirty Harry. He constantly made reference to the scene’s effectiveness—the girl in the pool with the sirenlike voice and the music. That opening instrument is a waterphone. This otherworldly sound ended up helping set the tone for impending trouble throughout the film, and to specifically underscore the killers’ inner workings.”
The film has received positive reviews in pre-screening, with Rivera's work in particular; Variety’s Andrew Barker noted “composer Carlos Rafael Rivera offers a score that is unexpectedly melodic, yet entirely effective.”
A protégé of Randy Newman, Carlos Rafael Rivera graduated with a DMA in composition from USC’s Thornton School of Music. His cross-cultural works have been performed and recorded throughout the world by some of the most prominent ensembles and soloists, including Arturo Sandoval, Colin Currie, Chanticleer, Cavatina Duo, the New England Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ). He has been commissioned by the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and the American Wind Symphony; recorded by Warner, Sony, Naxos, and Cedille labels; and awarded by the American Composers Orchestra, the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Guitar Foundation of America, BMI, and twice by ASCAP.
Equally comfortable in popular music, he has performed onstage as opening act for The Who at the Hollywood Bowl, while his guitar work includes performances on feature soundtracks (Crash, Dragonfly); studio sessions for Island/Def Jam, and Universal Records; as well as ABC’s Scrubs, MTV, and VH-1.
Rivera has served as composer-in-residence with the Miami Symphony Orchestra, as well as musical consultant for “Invitation to World Literature,” an educational series funded by the Annenberg Foundation and produced by WGBH. He is a voting member of the Grammy’s Recording Academy, the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), and is a sought out guest composer and lecturer throughout the U.S., as well as a faculty member at University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.
Universal Pictures and Cross Creek Productions’ A Walk Among The Tombstones opens in theaters September 19, 2014. A Walk Among The Tombstones - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from Varèse Sarabande Records released digitally on September 16th and on CD September 23, 2014.
