Buy it... if you enjoy playful, classically-inclined period scores, or you enjoy Mychael Danna's more largely dramatic and romantic styles.

Avoid it... if you were mesmerized by the Sissel performance of the title theme at the start of the film and were hoping for more of the same elegance.

Danna

Vanity Fair: (Mychael Danna) Modern moviegoers may not realize the lengthy history of the Vanity Fair story in film; the classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray has been translated to the big screen six times, but four of those films were produced in the silent era and the two others were viewed in the 1930's. Three different TV mini-series have been inspired by the tale, the most recent of which being a 6-part series on BBC and A&E in 1998. After a long silence from the major studios, everyone spoke out about Vanity Fair at once in 2002, with two concurrent and separate recreations of the tale announced for major production. Through delays and maneuverings, however, only one of the two films was ever made, and despite significant talk about the film being a Cannes-type of limited release, Vanity Fair was finally chosen to receive a wide release for September of 2004. Director Mira Nair of India is recognized for her narratives and documentaries about world cultures, and for Vanity Fair, she teams up with composer Mychael Danna, whose more distinct career efforts include Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding. Danna is no stranger to writing music for varied cultures and historical settings, and his diverse talents would be well suited for Vanity Fair. In case you are unfamiliar about the story, Vanity Fair follows the ambitions of Rebecca (Becky) Sharp, a clever girl born into the lower classes of London circa 1820. She uses her intelligence as well as her body to climb the social ladder and creates ripples in a society not quite ready to handle her soap opera methodology. Mychael Danna's approach to the film, of course, would revolve around the idea of classical structure, but rather than allowing an inherent stuffiness to prevail in his music, Danna manages to emulate the personality of the primary character and thus move at his own playful pace.

Danna does not deviate much from the confines of the orchestra that embodies the historical mores of the period, although he does avoid the pitfalls of over-consistency. If classical structure doesn't interest you, then Danna's prancing adaptation of that traditional music to mimic Sharp's attitudes may be equally irritating to you. But Danna always seems to be walking the fine line in Vanity Fair between your piano and string traditionalism and the more contemporary rhythms and vocals that likely represent the forwarding-looking Sharp in her journey. Both sides of the coin are featured in the highlights of the score. The film opens with a short and elegant (but mysterious in ways that remind of James Newton Howard's styles) vocal performance by Sissel of one of Danna's primary themes. This, along with two subsequent cues with wordless female vocals and a touch of Danna mysticism heard in short snippets throughout the score, are perhaps the most appealing moments. The lack of further exploration into the vocals is an odd action by Danna, for a considerable effort towards that artistic line of thinking must have been explicitly discussed in order to secure the services of Sissel for the recording. Despite any advertising you may read about Sissel's involvement with the score --and make no mistake about it, her voice is outstanding as always-- her contribution to Vanity Fair is unfortunately minimal. The first full score cue on the album release ("Exchange") expands upon this theme and introduces it to the pompous and highly structured classical side of the score. The first half of the album lets rip with some substantial and awesome thematic recitals, whether in a quartet format or (more typically) with the full ensemble. The pronounced timpani in "Steyne the Pasha," leading to a massive thematic outburst, is not to be missed.

If you prefer the string-dominated classical side of the score, then you could very well be enticed by Danna's lengthy light-hearted rhythms and overall playful nature (a highlight is the "Sir Pitt's Marriage Proposal" cue which dances between sections of the orchestra with great comedy). There is rarely a serious moment in the orchestral performances for Vanity Fair, outside of the stereotypical trumpet that marks the start of battle in the 14th cue. More somber moments are marked by piano solos (some by Danna himself) and period vocal performances. The score does have its awkward moments. While the story does call for a switch to third-world music during Sharp's travels, the two semi-original Indian songs cannot be more of a contrast from Danna's score. Despite Danna's involvement in their production, it is odd that he did not preface them to any degree in his score. Therein may lie the weakness of Danna's work for Vanity Fair; the score's very consistent loyalty to the Western orchestra, while it may perfectly match Sharp's prevailing attitudes about her position in life, doesn't mature or change location throughout the film. That may be Danna's point, but on album, the final handful of cues alternate in jarring fashion between Danna's material and that of Hakim and Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Overall, the score has bright and optimist moments that make for a fantastic, classically-inclined listening experience. Sissel's frightfully short performance is another reason to enjoy this album. In addition to an identity crisis in the latter half, the sound quality of the album does have some slight aural distortion in the fuller moments of "No Lights After Eleven" and "Ride to London," perhaps indicating over-inflated gain levels in the mixing. Vanity Fair is a strong score, and despite unexplored artistic avenues, Danna should be commended for this effort. ***

Bias Check:

For Mychael Danna reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.43 (in 7 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.02 (in 2,659 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.