Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you've long been weary of James Horner's tendency to overstate and recycle his music for dramatic settings, for this score is truly unique in its genuine heart and attitude. Avoid it... if even Horner at his most sincere can't convince you to take a chance on what was surprisingly the best score from the entire industry in 1996. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The Spitfire Grill: (James Horner) Lost in all the commotion about this film's award-winning showing at the Sundance Film Festival is the fact that it was at first produced for strictly religious purposes. A creation of the Catholic non-profit group Sacred Heart League, the initially-titled Care of the Spitfire Grill, a sorrowful but galvanizing portrayal of faith and sacrifice, was originally (and still is) intended for use in Christian educational settings. Upon the film's strong acclaim at Sundance, it was purchased on the spot by Castle Rock Entertainment for a stunning $10 million, the most money ever paid for an independent film. Mainstream critics and audiences weren't quite as thrilled by the story's tragic depiction of redemption, with a final act that preaches to unbelievable twists and turns, and Castle Rock ended up breaking about even on the venture. In The Spitfire Grill, a young woman released from prison (and in there for manslaughter) is the salvation of a small New England town where she both helps save the only local diner and, through her sacrifice, many of the people she encounters. It's a mutation on the reliable story of Jesus Christ, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict what happens to the girl in the end (a hint: death!). In between the time of the film's submission to Sundance and its eventual winning of its most coveted award, the original producers of the film, anticipating its potential, asked veteran composer James Horner to re-score the picture. The normally expensive Horner, impressed by the values depicted in the story, agreed to provide a small-scale score for The Spitfire Grill, written and recorded late in 1995 (a fact that only adds to the plentiful evidence that 1995 was easily the composer's best year of writing). His music was one of the reasons why the film achieved its success at Sundance, earning widespread praise that would eventually spread to nearly every corner of the film music world. The album release, predictably picked up by Sony Classical during the height of the film's hoopla, was an extremely refreshing piece of redemption for Horner's career, for it was a precursor to The Mask of Zorro in silencing the many listeners who accused the composer of failing to write a distinctly new idea in years. In short, The Spitfire Grill was unique. In subsequent years, Horner has continued to explore most of the stylistic ideas of The Spitfire Grill with less success, but it's important not to let the pieces of this score that show up in everything from Titanic to The New World diminish its immensely satisfying appeal in late 1996. Not often had Horner attempted to merge his lightest touch of drama with parochial rhythms and instrumentation, with perhaps Field of Dreams his only similar work in a most basic sense. The difference between The Spitfire Grill and the composer's other scores from the decades before and after, is the combination of authenticity and sincerity that saturates the work. It could be argued that the rural settings of New England really don't have a sound that defines the region's character and history, but Horner's merging of elements in The Spitfire Grill succeeds in providing one that is the equivalent for Maine, in many ways, of what Thomas Newman wrote for the Deep South in Fried Green Tomatoes (a coincidentally similar film in story, too). Although some might say that this score represents small town America in a more general, pastoral way, it really flourishes as a Northeastern identifier. Unlike many of Horner's following dramas of a larger scope, The Spitfire Grill has a convincing heart. He makes the music tick not with the overwrought melodrama that he often pulled off the shelves for larger studio productions, but rather with a very compelling series of fresh melodies and an ensemble that surprised many Horner collectors at the time. With that description in mind, though, it's important to note that every moment of The Spitfire Grill is easily recognizable as a Horner work. The cliches and most tiring self-references, though, are thankfully absent. The ensemble, orchestrated by Horner himself, is mostly responsible for this new sound; a moderately-sized orchestra is accented by fiddle, viola, acoustic guitar, flute, and piano solos, accompanied in their most lively performances by pop elements consisting of electronic bass, modern percussion, and occasional ticking sound effects. The scenery of the forest is provided with a meandering, slightly new age sound of airy synthetic atmosphere, flighty woodwinds, and metallic percussion that could possibly be credited as the origination point of the very similar tones for nature in A New World. One of the most remarkable aspects of The Spitfire Grill is how well Horner balances all of his solo instruments. You can't emphasize any one of the aforementioned performers because the composer alternates constantly between their usage. The viola and fiddle are likely the flashiest of the group, but the piano and guitar are attractive in their workmanlike roles. Horner offers a wide range of themes for The Spitfire Grill, and while themes for the love story, a mysterious man in the forest, and the forest itself are all significant in their development throughout the score, the soul of the film exists in its seldom-used, but gorgeous title theme. You have to be patient to hear this theme on album, but its representation of vivacity in the town of Gilead explodes in "Reading the Letters" and "A New Life for Gilead." Also explored to great lengths in "...Care of the Spitfire Grill," this title theme is among the composer's loveliest, passed between solo instruments and each section of the orchestra with constant beauty. The pizzazz of the tempo and percussion of the first two performances are the highlight of The Spitfire Grill, and Horner has never written music like this since. The remaining themes together form a strong bed of ambient harmony during the rest of the score, with only the penultimate track really treading into darker musical territory. In the middle section of "A Desperate Decision," mainstream Horner fans will hear a cross between the panic cues of Apollo 13 and A Perfect Storm (including an interesting progression unique to this cue). The lofty, spiritual wonders of the forest produce a relaxing tone in the middle portion of the album. As a listening experience, The Spitfire Grill is truly delightful and uninterrupted 50 minutes of comfortable and rewarding light drama. Almost universally popular in film music reviewing circles, the score's lack of flash and pomp provides a satisfying alternative for those who have become weary of Horner's tendency to overstate his intentions. It was the right score at the right time for the composer, and without fail, its subtle magic endures despite the composer's continued success in much larger studio projects thereafter. From Legends of the Fall in 1994 to The Mask of Zorro in 1998, the best five years of Horner's career are anchored by this hidden gem in middle. ***** Track Listings:
Total Time: 50:12
All artwork and sound clips from The Spitfire Grill are Copyright © 1996, Sony Classical. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 9/24/96, updated 8/11/08. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1996-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
