: (Elmer Bernstein) Deeply
flawed in its adaptation of Jacquelyn Mitchard's novel,
was soundly rejected by critics who correctly
complained about the film's poor pacing and character development. In
the shallow, rushed plot, a family loses one of its three children to
kidnapping and is forced to adapt to life without a young boy. Many
years later, the boy just happens across his former family when he
unwittingly comes to their door asks if they need their lawn mowed. The
boy has been raised by a nearby family who, in part, doesn't realize
that he had been kidnapped. How the two families cope with the turn of
events is the bulk of the story, and Michelle Pfeiffer's performance as
the lost boy's mother was the advertising point for the production.
Mediocre performance left
without much
of a future, though its score by the legendary Elmer Bernstein has kept
the production closer to the forefront in the minds of film score
collectors. Bernstein turned 77 years old near the release of the film
and 1999 was the composer's final full year of score writing. The
quality of his music did not significantly decline in those late years,
though while
is perhaps the most impressive standalone
work from that period, there is no doubt that the return to Bernstein's
own dramatic works late in the Golden Age was a fitting way to cap off
his career. Three scores together represent that lovely tribute to
personal and introspective drama from the classic era:
. All three offer graceful themes and a genuine heart, a sound
increasingly forgotten in the digital era.
At the time of
The Deep End of the Ocean's
release, Bernstein commented about the shift towards synthesized scores
and lamented their lack of a personal touch. He specifically went out of
his way to define
The Deep End of the Ocean as a throwback score,
stating, "the orchestration leans on musical sounds we associate with
people rather than machines." The fact that Bernstein so explicitly
rebutted synthetic film scores at this time remains an impressively
defiant posture, even if this film would likely never have received such
treatment. To favorably compare
The Deep End of the Ocean to the
equally beautiful
Frankie Starlight and
Far From Heaven
should likely suffice for the majority of Bernstein collectors curious
about this late entry. Bernstein's knack for perpetuating the Golden Age
in respectfully restrained scores like this was a great treat in those
final years, and admittedly this work's style is something of an
acquired taste compared to the composer's later counterparts. There are
hints of
To Kill a Mockingbird to be heard in
The Deep End of
the Ocean, a testament to Bernstein's prolific career given the
(more than) four decades in between the works. As expected, Bernstein
relies on one elegantly sensitive theme for the score, heard immediately
on piano at the outset of "Main Title." This theme is translated into a
more jovial variant later in the cue (over playful snare and tambourine
rhythms) and receives several lighter alterations as the score passes
the theme between piano, strings, and woodwinds in its midsections.
Listeners can expect a return to full ensemble performances in "Reunion"
and "End Credits."
While
The Deep End of the Ocean may technically
seem like a monothematic score, Bernstein's ability to adapt it for the
various concepts of joy and anguish is remarkable. In its progressions,
the theme can flow with a grace that reminds of Jerry Goldsmith's
The
Russia House in its piano performances while also launching into
spirited renditions on strings that remind, interestingly, of Mark
Mancina's
Twister. In tone, Bernstein proved once again that he
was still among the best composers for the piano. The performances on
the instrument roll and reflect in a masterful combination of loneliness
and hope. The use of the ondes martenot by Bernstein was fading by this
time in his career, and the instrument barely contributes to the distant
background of a small handful of tracks. The suspenseful moments in the
score, highlighted by the determined rhythm of "Photographs," revolve
around sharp piano notes in the bass and strong tension in the middle
strings. These are countered in the reflective cues by the use of a warm
acoustic guitar and woodwinds that recall the composer's earliest years.
On the whole,
The Deep End of the Ocean is, as with many of
Bernstein's other late small-scale scores, an atmospheric experience. It
has nothing that will blow you off your feet, but then again,
Bernstein's classic style has always been more subtle than most. The
main theme is not as memorable as those for
Frankie Starlight or
Far From Heaven, but its soft, nostalgic, and sensitive
renderings are the key. The album from Milan only runs 30 minutes in
length, though the eight minutes of the opening and closing tracks are
really all you need to supplement your Bernstein collection.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
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For Elmer Bernstein reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.25
(in 18 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.18
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