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White Oleander

Composed, Performed, and Co-Produced by:
Thomas Newman
Co-Produced and Edited by:
Bill Bernstein
Orchestrated by:
Thomas Pasatieri


Label:
Varèse Sarabande
Release Date:
October 29th, 2002


Also See:

American Beauty
Erin Brockovich
In the Bedroom
Pay It Forward


Audio Clips:

1. Oleander Time (0:29), 146K white_oleander1.ra

2. Not My Type (0:31), 156K white_oleander2.ra

9. Claire (0:30), 150K white_oleander9.ra

17. Every Insult (0:30), 150K white_oleander17.ra



Availability:

  Regular U.S. release.


Awards:

  None.









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White Oleander

Audio | Availability | Viewer Ratings | Tracks | Viewer Comments | Notes & Quotes
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  Our Price: $17.98
  Used Price: $17.97

  Sales Rank: 10997

  Avg. Rating: 4.00

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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:

Newman
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:



   Track Listings:
Total Time: 34:38

    • 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)
    • 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)




   Notes and Quotes:

    The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information about the score or film.







All artwork and sound clips from White Oleander are Copyright © 2002, Varèse Sarabande. 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 9/25/03, updated 9/26/03. Review Version 4.2 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2003-2008, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved.