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Release Date:
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February 25th, 2003
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are a Rachel Portman completist and don't mind her
repetition in style.
Avoid it... if you sold your copy of The Cider House Rules
because it was too mundane.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Nicholas Nickleby: (Rachel Portman) Like Charles
Dickens' writing, Rachel Portman's music is usually highly predictable.
Their pairing in this endeavor exists for the newest adaptation of the
Nicholas Nickleby tale of a young man attempting to cross the
boundaries of social classes in storied London to reunite his family
(despite, of course, the interference from a number of colorful characters).
The film serves up a star-studded cast of names from yesteryear and
tomorrow, and it was touted as an Oscar contender by its studio, which
released the film to coincide with the Academy Awards season. In the end,
however, Nicholas Nickleby didn't gain the widespread praise in
America that was hoped for, and the film sank to the sidelines relatively
quickly. For a project that would seem to be a perfect fit for composer
Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, A Christmas Carol), an
equally logical choice is Rachel Portman, whose period piece comedy and
drama scores are best known for Academy Award-winning Emma and The
Cider House Rules. With a touch of comedic flair and lavish costumes,
Nicholas Nickleby would require little new from Portman, with the
bulk of the material needing a pleasant tone, playful demeanor, and melodic
heart. Portman's response to the film was to do exactly as you'd expect her
to: reprise and rearrange her previous work to fit a similar picture. Her
fans will recognize the sound immediately, and depending on your tolerance
of repetitious styles, Nicholas Nickleby may be too much of the
same.
The question arises once again: does this repetition really
matter? To Portman's fans, it doesn't seem to, for the album performed
reasonably well in its first few months of release. This fact seems to
reinforce the belief that Portman fans will purchase her music regardless of
the lack of new styles. The theme for Nicholas Nickleby is a hybrid,
almost technically speaking, between the title themes from The Cider
House Rules and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Even the chord
progressions in her underscore have become predictable and recognizable. The
only somewhat new sound in Nicholas Nickleby is the material written
for the Smike character, and in the sixth, seventh, and fourteenth cues, you
will hear the more ominous bass string writing break the mood of the
constant violins and woodwinds. Both brass and percussion are jettisoned for
the effort, which is also typical of Portman's styles. Even her fans will
have to admit that Nicholas Nickleby is just more of the same. But
even having said that, she maintains a consistent level of pleasant, lush
melodies, and you tend to forget --during the height of her themes-- that
the material is recycled. As a listening experience, Nicholas
Nickleby is a moderating, soothing, and easy album (also to be
expected), though it will likely offer nothing to impress the casual film
music listener. Unlike Hart's War, there may be little reason for
non-Portman collectors to give it a chance. No matter the past, though, it
is still good music, and it may even be better for those who haven't heard a
Portman score before. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Main Titles (5:35)
• 2. Journey to Dotheboys (1:09)
• 3. Dear Mr. Knuckleboy (0:51)
• 4. The Forest (1:08)
• 5. Smike by the Stove (1:13)
• 6. More Jobs for Smike (2:10)
• 7. Squeers Captures Smike (2:00)
• 8. You Are my Home (1:02)
• 9. Kate's Tears (0:59)
• 10. Fanny Music (1:11)
• 11. Ladies and Gentleman (0:51)
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• 12. Poison Roots to You (0:47)
• 13. Nicholas Looks for Work (0:59)
• 14. Smike is Captured (0:57)
• 15. "A Man Named Bray" (1:16)
• 16. Smike in his Room (2:42)
• 17. Journey to Devonshire (1:18)
• 18. Brooker (0:59)
• 19. Smike Dies (2:25)
• 20. Nicholas Proposes (1:59)
• 21. At Last I Can Say It (1:12)
• 22. End Titles (6:40)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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