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Sense and Sensibility: (Patrick Doyle) Looking back
at the first half of the 1990's, the age seemed ripe for Jane Austen
dramas adapted to the big screen. The self-important, costume-centric,
period-piece flair for melodramatics was experiencing a renaissance at
the time, not restricted only to the adaptations of Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice,
Persuasion, and
Sense and
Sensibility, but largely symbolized by them. With Hollywood stuck in
eighteenth-century England for much of the decade, it's no surprise that
Sense and Sensibility was such a success with both critics and
awards nominators. Even if you're a male who was dragged kicking and
screaming to witness this film, however, there was merit to be found in
the result. It remains a surprisingly good adaptation of the Austen
story by lead actress Emma Thompson herself, and the supporting cast led
by a relatively obscure Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman (in a charming
gentleman's performance that was rare for the actor in the mainstream at
the time) counterbalanced the predictably on-cue bumbling of Hugh Grant.
For detractors of the kind of ridiculous structure of society
resurrected in these Austen tales,
Sense and Sensibility may
still be an insipid bore, exhibiting the sort of mind-bogglingly trivial
romance of the era that indeed nearly ruins the larger, overarching
themes of the maturing process that the film also displays. Just as the
genre sends men running away in terror, the music for these old English
dramas suffers from much of the same kind of reputation. When you think
of Merchant Ivory Productions, director Ang Lee, composer Richard
Robbins, or even Patrick Doyle in these circumstances, the genre
presents itself as a natural sedative for people who couldn't care less
for the romantic and social commentaries of Jane Austen. That said,
though, the music for these period pieces was equally recognized for its
high quality in the 1990's, from Elmer Bernstein's
The Age of
Innocence to Robbins' pair of Academy Award nominations later in the
decade for
Howard's End and
The Remains of the Day. Doyle,
while known better for his Shakespearean efforts at the time, entered
this scene with Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for
Sense and
Sensibility. After impressing listeners with his explosive symphonic
score for Kenneth Branagh's
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein the prior
year, 1995 helped redefine the composer as a master of whimsical drama
and romance material of a distinctly melodic heart, a style that came to
represent the composer's dominant career style for years to come.
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To write off the score for
Sense and Sensibility
as an exercise in pure fluff wouldn't be an injustice for too many
listeners, but the composer accomplishes all that he needed to do for
this assignment. The score is performed by a simplified orchestral
ensemble at tentative but nevertheless beautiful levels of attentiveness
to character. The tepid romance and interminable conversations in the
film beg for this variety of basic string, woodwind, and piano writing,
and while a much needed and overdue sense of charm shines through in the
end, Doyle is careful to present his music with just enough solemn pace
of restraint to serve the hardships of the women in the story. Thus,
Sense and Sensibility isn't really an upbeat venture, teasing you
with typical flourishes of Doyle's always-swirling string figures while
never truly engaging you until the final cue. It is, in that regard, the
opposite of
Much Ado About Nothing in terms of its subdued
personality. Some might find
Sense and Sensibility more appealing
as it progresses, but that's because Doyle manipulates the tone of his
music to match the growing maturity of the women in the story. The two
operatic performances by emerging soprano talent Jane Eaglen are based
on non-Austen poems of English vintage (the director's choice over
Austen texts, interestingly) translated into songs by Doyle, and the
differences in tone between those two bookending songs tells you
everything you need to know about the direction of the score. The
opening song, "I Weep You No More Sad Fountains," extends its melody
into several cues of the score, allowing Doyle to prance with the light
touch of the piano and woodwinds. The best of the playful elements in
this idea are developed into the first signs of serious contemplation in
the piano and string cue "My Father's Favorite," arguably the highlight
of the score. The "Steam Engine" and "Willoughby" travel cues strike a
more enthusiastic, waltz-like rhythm that sustains interest in middle
sections. Later in the score, after the harp solos of "Excellent
Notion," the orchestrations become a bit more lush, and Doyle's tempos
slow to allow the strings to perform thematic variations of simplicity
with the broad strokes of John Barry's usual tendencies. Generally, the
mood is very consistent in
Sense and Sensibility, and Doyle's
score is equally respectful and warm throughout. The final cue, "Throw
the Coins," is the only full ensemble expression of melody, with
victorious cymbal crashes and rounded accompaniment for the final
pronouncement of the title theme as the pairings in the film are
realized. Overall, Doyle's
Sense and Sensibility can be either
sickeningly boring or charmingly inviting, depending on your opinion of
low key period classicism. No matter your position on that scale, the
composition remains one of Doyle's better achievements.
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| Bias Check: | For Patrick Doyle reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.85 (in 26 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.48
(in 20,137 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes notes from director Ang Lee about the score and
film, as well as excerpts from Jane Austen's text.
