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Sideways: (Rolfe Kent) Serving as 2004's surprise
independent entry to the arthouse scene, Fox Searchlight's
Sideways picked up widespread critical and, to a slightly lesser
degree, popular momentum as it launched itself into mainstream attention
often sought by such films during the awards season. Directed by
Alexander Payne of
About Schmidt and
Election fame,
Sideways renewed a collaboration with screenwriter Jim Taylor,
who not only worked with Payne on those prior successes but was
strikingly out of his league with Payne on the writing of
Jurassic
Park III. Payne and Taylor seemed to love taking jabs at American
culture during this period, whether satirically or affectionately. Based
on Rex Pickett's novel,
Sideways does the latter, following two
middle-aged men on their comical, narcissistic mid-life-crisis journey
through Northern California's upscale wine country. One man a failed,
divorced novelist and the other a has-been television actor about to get
married, the two spend most of the film using discussions about wine as
metaphors for real-life emotional issues. The comedy of the story not
only extends from the funny twists on viniculture and the fine twists of
metaphor throughout, but
Sideways also features snippets of
outrageous sexual material. Those flagrant depictions of fornication and
full-frontal nudity, along with a certain amount of womanizing that
occurs to the two lovely leading ladies in the film, offered the
foundation for Christian religious organizations and other squeamish
types to take aim at the film with protest. The vulgarity throughout the
picture is strangely soothed by Rolfe Kent's continuously upbeat and
light-hearted jazz score. Payne claimed that he had been influenced in
the past by Italian composers more than any others, and it's fitting for
the wine-related subject of
Sideways that an approach befitting a
snazzy Italian subgenre be taken with the music this time in particular.
Kent was also already a regular collaborator with Payne, and Kent's
career there and beyond has been most widely publicized for its modern
and lightly orchestral comedy tones. He is, in short, a workhorse in the
movie genres in which you're least likely to notice the underscore in
the background.
Whereas Payne had asked for lessons by legends Nino
Rota and Ennio Morricone to be followed by Kent in previous works, the
Sideways score is influenced by Piero Umiliani, reaching into the
nearly forgotten realm of 1950's and 60's Italian comedies and 1970's
lounge jazz in America. If you're familiar with that genre of music,
then you'll immediately be able to hear that stereotypical sound in your
head, and Kent faithfully recreates it here. A small ensemble consisting
of piano, saxophones, trumpet, flutes, vibes, bass, and drums (and other
occasional contributors) constitute the entirety of this score, with no
orchestral backing necessary. What Payne was seemingly seeking is a
score that expresses both the comedy and drama of the characters'
personalities without ever becoming sentimental about those characters,
and, except for the cues containing solemn piano solos, Kent achieves
that task. To say that the score is melodic from start to finish would
be correct in a technical sense, but don't expect to be humming any
particular theme after the film or album is over. Despite a series of
primary and secondary themes and motifs established by Kent, it is the
instrumentation and rhythm that really sticks in the listener's mind,
consistently flowing in the likeable manner that makes the whole
suitable for use on repeat plays in upscale city cafes or small coffee
house bookstores. It isn't constructed like a typical film score, no
synchronization points to be heard. With almost no abrupt changes in
tone or substance in the middle of each suite-like track, the album
plays like a very consistent 60's-70's retro jazz collection. When the
piano, sax, bass, drums, and other percussion perform alone, the sound
will perhaps be easier to grasp for modern sensibilities; the vibes and
flutes, on other hand, firmly place this score in the proper age group.
Whether this score jives with your sense of grooviness or not, its
rhythms will sustain a predictably positive environment from beginning
to end. You may be pulling your hair out by then, if not because of the
constant, faithful rhythms then maybe because of the irrepressible charm
throughout. It's a buyer beware venture, but as a background listening
experience on a sunny morning, it's a refreshing change from the usual
film scores for this type of film, likely the reason why the music
netted Kent a Golden Globe nomination. The rather short album appears in
identical form on the Silva Screen label in Europe and New Line Records
label in America. It's an admirable resurrection of yesteryear
regardless of your opinion of it.
*** Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
The insert includes a note from the director about the
score and Rolfe Kent.
