Buy it... if you're prepared for the same restrained pacing and outward respect as heard in John Williams' JFK, but with a distinct Southern flavour.

Avoid it... if the Americana feel created by harmonica, fiddle, piano, guitar, and jaw harp, as well as numerous gospel vocals, negatively distract you from Williams' subdued orchestral beauty in the score.

Williams

Rosewood: (John Williams) For sixty years, America was unaware of the tragedy that occurred in the small Florida town of Rosewood in 1922. A race riot by whites from that and neighboring areas left the town in ruins and led to the shooting, burning, or lynching deaths of between 70 and 250 blacks. The coverup of the massacre at Rosewood is typical in the history of the deep southern regions of America at the time; the state's police indicated after the mob attack that only as many as half a dozen people actually died at Rosewood in the riot. It wasn't until newspaper reports in the 1980's and later descriptions of the event on the Discovery Channel that the true extent of the mob's damage and carnage was exposed. Director John Singleton had matured greatly since his debut with Boyz N the Hood in 1991, and Rosewood was a significant production that ended up being very expensive to produce. It's hard to market films like Rosewood to the mass American public because, if not for simply for the shame involved with the actions of whites of that period, there remains little appeal for people to witness such tragedy. One element that came in over budget was the score for the film, which was originally composed by Wynton Marsalis with his distinctive jazz and blues touch. Proving inadequate for the gravity of the picture, however, the filmmakers would in the end turn to John Williams, who had won the world over with his score for another challenging, emotional docu-drama, Schindler's List. The move from Marsalis, an amateur at film score writing on this level, to the maestro Williams is an enormous leap, and a welcome one given the usual quality of Williams' work. Not only had Williams already written music for dark passages in America's past in the 1990's (JFK, Nixon), but you can reach all the way back to the early 1970's to realize that Williams is also skilled in the bluesy twang of the Deep South. Stylistic similarities between Rosewood and scores such as The Sugarland Express, Conrack, and The Missouri Breaks indicate that Williams doesn't just conjure the attitude in Rosewood from this air, although the weight of his music has vastly increased in the meantime, partially due to Williams' growth as a talent and the necessities of the film Rosewood in particular.

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While on the surface, the rhythms and instrumentation of Rosewood may seem like a significant departure from Williams' usual styles (it didn't help Rosewood's cause that the Special Editions of the original Star Wars trilogy were being released at exactly the same time), it's easy to see that Williams follows a very typical process that mirrors, most interestingly, Home Alone in structure. For Rosewood, Williams composes three gospel songs that serve the same purpose (and are integrated in exactly the same way) as his original carols in Home Alone. The first, "Look Down, Lord" is the piece of lament in the score, while the other two become more progressively optimistic and eventually triumphant in "The Freedom Train." The adult black vocals in these songs extend to sections of the original score, often leading the start of a cue. The score itself features two full, satisfying themes and one darker motif to represent the whites' attitudes. The two primary themes (showcased in the first cue) are performed by harmonica, fiddle, piano, guitar, and jaw harp, with a full orchestral ensemble available for the more beautiful --and usual-- string renditions of Williams' themes. The authenticity of the score is outstanding, mixing the standout solo instruments with an occasional sound effect of throaty exhales of voice and the expected rambling of timpani for moments of dread. The four-note motif that Williams uses to identify impending danger offers a minor-key progression that mixes well with the blues of the surrounding music and is presented by the brass section in several cues. Relentless string chopping, with continuous jaw harp and fluttering woodwind performances over a violent guitar represent the actual moments of violence. The overarching attitude of Williams' music has the same restrained pacing and outward respect as JFK, with even some of the same mournful brass solos. It's easy to have respect for Rosewood as a score as well, for it accomplishes what it needs to do at Williams' normal standard of excellence. But like a handful of similarly rendered Williams works, Rosewood is not a readily enjoyable listening experience. Unless you are prepared to share the remembrance of the events by getting caught in the emotions of the music, the score can be quite laborious. The gospel music is definitely not for every listener, and its very forward vocals break the orchestral performances in many places on album. Thus, it's likely to be an only occasional listen for even Williams enthusiasts. Marsalis' finished score can be heard, incidentally, on his 1999 CD release, "Reeltime." ***

Bias Check:

For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.72 (in 63 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.67 (in 299,177 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.