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Review of Because of Winn-Dixie (Rachel Portman)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... only if you are a Rachel Portman completist and seek thirteen very pleasant but hardly groundbreaking minutes of score that infuses Southern American flavor into her usual methodology.

Avoid it... if Portman's music, no matter the specialty instrumentation it utilizes, is often too repetitive for your liking and the compilation of songs holds no interest for you, either.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

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.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 44:39

• 1. Opal's Blues - performed by The Be Good Tanyas (3:03) • 2. I've Gotta See You Smile - performed by Leigh Nash (3:08) • 3. Someday Somehow - performed by The Beu Sisters (2:54) • 4. Sunflowers - performed by Alice Peacock (3:11) • 5. Splish Splash - performed by Adam Schlesinger & James Ina (2:12) • 6. The Clapping Song - performed by Shirley Ellis (3:11) • 7. Won't Give In - performed by The Finn Brothers (4:17) • 8. Cabaret - performed by Emmylou Harris (4:56) • 9. Fly - performed by Shawn Colvin (2:40) • 10. Glory Glory - performed by Patrinell Wright & Gloria Smith (2:23) • 11. Tree of Wrongs* (4:17) • 12. Opal's Theme* (4:18) • 13. Ten Things* (4:04)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Because of Winn-Dixie are Copyright © 2005, Nettwerk America and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 2/12/05 and last updated 10/24/11.