: (Rachel Portman) John Irving
adapted his own novel into the screenplay for Miramax's
, ensuring a loyal narrative that tackles several issues
of societal mores with an even balance. The film's slice of 1940's New
England life examines the concepts of parentage, abortion, and other
generalities while following one man's (Homer's) journey of
self-discovery against the backdrop of these issues. Beautiful
cinematography of the region, solid acting performances, and a gorgeous
score by Rachel Portman all led Miramax to push Lasse Hallstrom's film
heavily during the awards season, and it hauled in an impressive number
of Oscar nominations. One of those nominations indeed came for Portman's
music for the film, which accentuated the lovely innocence of the time
and the region, as well as the overriding sense of goodness and optimism
that prevails in the script. Portman had already won an Academy Award
for her delightful, but limited score for
, and was known in
the late 1990's as a master of the lush, romantic sound of light drama.
To some extent, she filled the void left by the death of Georges
Delerue, providing the industry with lofty European romanticism unafraid
to carry a charming melody with piano and woodwinds. Fans of her
trademark style of lush string themes and simplistic repetition had been
distraught at the time over her highly experimental score for
, but they'd be treated to two more addictively lovely
entries by Portman in this genre before she would move on to other
genres (and her own family would interrupt her productivity). There are
many similarities between the music for
the following year. They were
the only tandem that took the fluid orchestral sound from Portman's
romantic comedies and gave them strictly dramatic interpretations. These
two works, overflowing with the same frothy spirit, are easy comparable,
though due to the few shortcomings of
Before touching upon the problems of
The Cider House
Rules, it's important to recognize that Portman's music, despite
whatever any complaints you may hear about it, is an absolutely perfect
match for its film. Some of her work tends to be bloated in stature,
especially when comedy is involved, but for
The Cider House Rules
she applies just the right amount of sugar to the mix. Structurally,
everything in the score will be familiar to any listener knowledgeable
about her works. Piano and woodwinds elegantly state the score's easily
accessible theme while alternating strings set a very slight waltz-like
rhythm underneath. For the four or five necessary crescendos of dramatic
power in the story, Portman lays on the full string ensemble, creating a
deeply resonating sense of gravity best captured by John Barry in the
previous decade. Perpetually meandering piano counterpoint serves as
another level of beauty to an already syrupy, major-key recipe for hope.
The style of
The Cider House Rules, despite the serious tone of
some of the film's scenes, is almost always rooted in that optimism,
with "Abortion" and "Dr. Larch Dies" the only slight twists into the
minor-key realm. The stationary atmosphere of the score is both its
greatest asset and, to detractors of the composer's style, its greatest
weakness. The score's consistency, never interrupted by a single moment
of dissonance or instrumental deviation, causes its forty minutes on
album to pass without complication, making it the kind of score that can
be put on repeat in your stereo and you likely won't be able to
determine when the natural beginning or end of score passes. Only one
dominant theme graces
The Cider House Rules, and its endless
repetitions could grow tiresome for some listeners, a trait that defines
much of Portman's music. She does alter the theme for secondary
performances on piano, repeating notes multiple times to create an
almost Western style to its sound. You can compare both versions of the
theme back-to-back on the piano and then woodwinds in "Homer Returns to
the Orphanage."
The score does have its inherent weaknesses. The
aforementioned consistency doesn't allow for the music to develop along
with Homer and his destiny. The shorter running time of the album helps
to diminish this problem, however. The simplicity in theme and
orchestration might not satisfy listeners the way
The Legend of
Bagger Vance does. Clarinet and oboe performances are almost as
constant as the piano. Strings provide a boost in ambience and brass are
consistently utilized to set underlying chords only. Only once in
The
Cider House Rules does Portman actually allow the brass section to
briefly carry the title theme, and that comes with the trumpets in
"Homer Returns to the Orphanage." The other, perhaps most problematic
weakness of
The Cider House Rules is the theme itself. A blatant
reworking of Jerry Goldsmith's charming and inspirational theme for the
title character of
Rudy, this theme's only original traits would
go on to receive more interesting variations in
The Legend of Bagger
Vance. It's probable, looking back at the projects, that
Rudy
was placed as a temp track in
The Cider House Rules and,
inevitably,
The Cider House Rules was placed as a temp track in
The Legend of Bagger Vance. Such things don't normally prove too
bothersome, but the straight-forward simplicity of Portman's statements
of all her themes exposes these connections with clarity. Overall,
The Cider House Rules isn't in the same league with
Only
You or
The Legend of Bagger Vance, but it is an equally
delightful and upbeat listening experience no matter what is happening
on screen. In the post-Delerue era, it is this optimism that attracts
many fans to Portman's works. And in a world in which composers of
dramatic comedies and romances try to be either too cute (resulting in a
catchy pop or jazz) or overly-melodramatic (which some might attribute
specifically to James Horner), Portman successfully walks a fine line in
between. Her flighty, brass-diminished scores offer simplistic, but
endearing themes that will remain in the memory of the listener long
after the music has finished, and
The Cider House Rules is among
these triumphs.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| 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 28,140 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
