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Co-Produced and Edited by:
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Bill Bernstein
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Orchestrated by:
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Thomas Pasatieri
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Release Date:
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October 29th, 2002
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you like using those ocean sound effect CDs to help induce
sleep and want a dreamy, themeless Thomas Newman score to work to the same
end.
Avoid it... if you'd rather hear music that is... actually music.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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White Oleander: (Thomas Newman) When Janet Fitch's
best-selling novel became one of Oprah's Book Club selections, you had the
feeling that the sharp, troubled drama would make its way onto the big
screen. The tale of a troubled teen whose single mother is jailed, White
Oleander is a foster child's nightmare. The teenage girl here is passed
between hideous potential mothers before finally finding a place,
ironically, with a foster father. The film is an exhibit of female behavior
at its strongest and weakest, best and worst. It was salvaged from the
enormous pile of average tear-jerking arthouse dramas by the strength of its
own A-list cast. It was also the directorial debut for British stage and
television director Peter Kosminsky, who decided to immediately jump on the
popular arthouse scoring wagon by pursuing composer Thomas Newman for a role
in the production. As a project, White Oleander is a perfect match
for Newman, who is known for scoring heavy, female-driven dramas in a range
from Little Women to Erin Brockovich. Fans of the orchestral
Thomas Newman have seen the composer switch from his mid-1990's
sensibilities back to the more experimental, synthesized sounds of his
roots. It was American Beauty and all of the film's success that
brought Newman's often wacky choice of instrumentation into this in-demand
arthouse style. From television commercials to temp track rip-offs, Newman
has managed to start a three-year trend with this style of minimalistic
music. This is exactly the kind of sound that Kosminsky seemed to demand for
White Oleander, and Newman was happy to oblige. Instead of going the
route of the more extroverted, rhythmic styles of American Beauty of
Erin Brockovich, however, Newman stays closer to the more subtle,
atmospheric scores for Pay It Forward and In the
Bedroom.
To accompany a few dozen string members of an orchestra,
Newman would employ a piano, electric guitar, repeater, glass guitar, pick
jam, copper box, pedal steel guitar, granulated cello, stick fiddle,
cavaquinho, saz, high metal, shiver tables, struck bowls, pang glocken, ewi,
clarinet, and double bass for the score... not at all unusual for Newman
these days. The result of their performances is surprisingly non-existent.
Despite all of these creative instruments, Newman has created a score for
White Oleander that is even more minimalistic than anything he has
yet produced, reducing his music even further from the realm of actual,
technically constructed music. Instead, we get sound design, music that
functions as one massive sound effect, containing no theme, no style, no
motif, no defining factor that elevates this score to any level of musical
comprehension. From listening to this music, you would get the impression
that a character is contemplating suicide on screen at every moment, with a
drab, dramatic cloud of dreamy atmosphere floating from start to end. The
word "dreamy" is key here, because Newman has finally hit a point in his
career where his music could be sold as a sleep-inducing sound effect CD.
You know... the ones with the waves and the seagulls that repeat all night
and help you drift off to sleep quickly and quietly? Put White
Oleander right on the shelves next to the ocean sound CDs. It isn't
horrible to listen to at all; in fact, Newman's own piano solos have a very
soothing quality. And, of course, the CD will put you to sleep if you need
such a listening experience. But as a film score, White Oleander
offers nothing to the field of existing material by Newman of anyone else.
The level of interest in this music is absolutely zero. On album, it plays
for 30+ minutes of nothingness, and fans of the movie should be aware that
Sheryl Crow's song "Safe and Sound" --heard over the end credits-- is not on
this album. One can only wish that it was, if only to bust up the sound
effects. **
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Oleander Time (4:21)
• 2. Not My Type (2:29)
• 3. Starr (1:04)
• 4. Dürer Rabbit (1:24)
• 5. Meteor Shower (1:38)
• 6. Plain Denim Dress (2:25)
• 7. Broken People (1:53)
• 8. Fire Season (1:25)
• 9. Claire (1:15)
• 10. Rollercoaster (2:17)
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• 11. Rena (1:02)
• 12. Milk Flowers (1:23)
• 13. La Puta Del Diablo (1:26)
• 14. Bullet (0:49)
• 15. DMSO (2:20)
• 16. Uncle Ray (0:50)
• 17. Every Insult (1:11)
• 18. Shadow Puppet (1:59)
• 19. White Oleander (3:19)
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The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information about the score or film.
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