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| Portman |
Because of Winn-Dixie: (Rachel Portman) A "child
befriends dog" film based upon the Newberry Medal-winning children's
novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo,
Because of Winn-Dixie
used its name recognition in early 2005 to be plucked out of the
arthouse circuit and distributed widely enough by 20th Century Fox to
bring in a modest but impressive fiscal haul. In the story, a
10-year-old girl moves with her preacher father (feel-good movie regular
Jeff Daniels) to a small Florida town where she doesn't know anyone
until she adopts a dog (with the usual traits for a feel-good movie:
big, old, ugly, stray) and uses her relationship with the animal to gain
acceptance with others in the town and repair her strained relationship
with her own father so that he can finally reveal why her mother ran
away long ago. Never fret over the outcome, however, because the dog is
smart enough to hide when necessary and reveal itself just in time for
the cast to sing a happy song at the end. It may seem like an "oh, jeez"
kind of storyline (certainly movies such as this have been made since
the beginning of the industry and they honestly belong on television)
but the premise continues to sell. With a host of child and animal
stars, the movie was appropriately shot in the Deep South of America,
requiring that the combination of songs and score for the soundtrack
stir a sense of Southern hospitality into a vibrant stew that would
appeal to both children and adult viewers. Director Wayne Wang had
worked with composer Rachel Portman a few times before, with
The Joy
Luck Club in 1993 serving as the triumph of their collaboration
(they would reunite again for
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in
2011). By 2005, it had been a few years since Portman returned to the
genre of sugar-coated innocence that helped her established her
hopelessly optimistic, upbeat styles in the 1990's. The composer's
heartwarming orchestral sensibilities had been absent from many of her
works of the early 2000's as she instead filled her time with projects
that branched out from the stereotypical romances and other light dramas
that had defined her career. With its tender sensibilities,
Because
of Winn-Dixie represented a stereotypical Portman project from the
days of old, and both her skeptics and collectors recognized that the
assignment was destined to reinforce their previously conceived opinions
of her style, for the composer breaks absolutely no new ground with this
effort.
Highlighted by acoustic guitar and solo string accents,
the instrumentation Portman chose for
Because of Winn-Dixie stops
barely short of making the room smell like baked potatoes and apple pie.
Add the composer's very simplistic, pleasant melodies to these
ingredients and the score drips with Americana spirit and warmth. Not a
single note of trepidation hinders
Because of Winn-Dixie, with
every rolling major-key progression shifting the listener from one sunny
morning to another. At its worst, Portman's score bubbles along quietly
in the distance, with perhaps a rambling piano or the guitar in the
background of its pleasant ambience. At its most inspired, Portman whips
out her standard, octave-jumping string section rhythms and some light
percussion (a tambourine and other fuzzy stuff) and presents her main
identity, "Opal's Theme," with exuberance through solo flute and a
moderately sized orchestral backing. While "Tree of Wrongs" and "Ten
Things" inoffensively meander in the background for much of their
lengths, "Opal's Theme" is engaging and possibly infectious in its
up-tempo performances of the melody, a highlight worthy of a place on
any comprehensive Portman compilation. The uniquely Southern flavor,
outside of the numerous violin solos (or fiddle, in this case), includes
some bluegrass-style banjo contributions and drawn out whole notes in
the background by a harmonica. Critics of this Portman style will
quickly and correctly point to several similarities in melodic
progression between
Because of Winn-Dixie and the superior
The
Cider House Rules (among others that would probably qualify), and
indeed the composer attempts nothing structurally new this time around.
Three solid cues of Portman's work appear on the Nettwerk America label,
one that had released soundtracks in the past but very rarely any albums
with prominent score placements. About thirteen minutes of Portman
material follows a variety of mostly contemporary light rock and country
songs on the
Because of Winn-Dixie album, and although most of
these entries are generic, the inclusion of retro favorite "Splish
Splash" still induces smiles even today. While hardcore score collectors
will scoff at the minimal Portman presence on the product, thirteen
minutes of her work here is strangely appropriate given the lack of much
new inspiration to be heard in it. Its personality makes it a better
find for Portman collectors than either
The Closer You Get or
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 in the same decade, if
only for the delightful Southern flavor that is a rarity in the British
composer's career.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Rachel Portman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 30 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 28,139 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
