Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you have an appreciation for low-key, classically-inclined English period scores of a variety not uncommon to Richard Robbins' style of the 1990's for the genre. Avoid it... if everything about costume dramas set in eighteenth-century England strikes you as boring from the outset, including the predictably restrained music that dishes up a pretty but subdued romantic accompaniment. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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. 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. **** Track Listings:
Total Time: 42:54
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